Jasmine Cheatham

Response 2

9/5/14

English 304

Culture of horror, a world where a man’s reputation is at the center of his livelihood and self-worth (167). Just as a herdsman has to show aggression to prove that he is not weak, people are shaped through nature and nurture. There are environmental influences that help shape everyone. Of course biological factors play a major part but the way one acts and shows the rest of the world sometimes sets a marker for how they are viewed and treated. I know that we as people set the tone for our lives. Growing up I was surrounded by drug addicts, prostitutes, gangs, gunshots from time to time. Growing up in a low income community I knew that I did not want to spend the rest of my life or bring children into a world like this. I knew that I had to act a certain way and make decisions for myself on how the world would view and treat me.

            Just as Dov Cohen and Richard Nisbett conducted an experiment on the reactions of insults to a group of men, in Pullman I believe that some police officers try to get reactions out of people. Not saying that they are racist but I have experienced some profiling and police trying to mess with me in a way that has never happened to me before. I believe partially it is due to lack of low crime in Pullman and that I was black and they knew I am not from here. Just as Cohen and Nisbett described what mattered was where they were from.

            It is never too late to turn your circumstances around, just as Korean Air did. The airline went from going to the worst air line and being talked negatively upon to getting recognition for its transformation. My mother who was the eldest of seven and is the only girl had to raise my uncles by herself. Her mother was not too much involved in their lives. My mom knew she wanted to be supportive of her children when the time came around. She worked over night shifts as she got older. Even though she was in a bad circumstance growing up, it gave her motivation to be better and have a better life for herself and her children.

            Just as Rene with the math problem, after consistently trying and trying and still not getting to where she wanted to be she never gave up. A famous quote that I like is when the road gets rough you have to keep on trucking. I like this saying because it is true, when things get difficult you have to continue to press through them because not everything is life is easy to get, you have to go through some trials to reach greatness and once you reach your goals you’ll be satisfied knowing that you made it and didn’t give up. For me being in college I have two jobs to put myself through school and there were many times that I wanted to give up. Just as Rene I kept going over the same stuff over and over again she kept going and that is what I have been doing my college career.