Hateful Things

Okay, last week in my Survey of World Literature class I had to pleasure of reading Sei Shonagon's "Hateful Things"--if you haven't read this piece of work--you should.

Basically this text is a list of things that Shonagon despises and her list made me ponder on the things in my world that I absolutely hate!

These things include:

1.    People letting the door close on your face when you are walking behind them.

2.    When one is having a conversation with one's friends and a person from a third party butts in with their own unwanted "opinion".

3.    Slow ass drivers in the fast lane.

4.    Burger King.

5.    Shorts with sweaters, or flip flops in the cold, or UGGs in the summertime-- are you cold and hot at the same time? And most of all...

6.    CONFORMITY!

Conformity is one of the most annoying concepts on the planet. People everywhere all around the world conform to limits of their culture, sex, gender, religion, spirituality...you get the picture. People (and when I say people, I mean humanity in general) are some conforming ass, go-with-the-flow ass, band-wagon ass, following ass individuals. They thrive off of doing what everyone else is doing, by following trends, mimicking dumb ass movements, and adopting positions on popular issues when they are ignorant on the facts.

Conformity comes in all different kinds of shapes and forms and I can talk on the topic all day long...but I want to note my own ideology about conformity that I think that everyone should know. That ideology: Conformity yields ignorance; ignorance yields to unconscious decision making, belief forming, and assertion on topics, issues, and philosophies that one is not qualified to posit on because he/she resides under the very popular veil of complete ignorance! It is one thing to conform and be ignorant on ideas and concepts when one is not educated, but, for individuals who are products of a "liberal arts" education to still be IGNORANT to the things going on around them--there is no excuse!!

This is why liberality is limited. Its teachings promote dissonance and yet the overall expectations revert back to conformity at its basic level. The real dilemma lies in with the teachings of that same dissonance--so why even include this concept as part of ideology labeled liberality?

DISCLAIMER: This blog will feature my personal OPINIONS on the quality of Liberal arts education, the challenges that college students face, my perspectives on traditionally taboo and conventional topics (i.e. sex, homosexuality, gender issues, porn, etc.), and just a peek into my unconventional thought processes! It is no way related to or affiliated with my institution of higher education.

Limited Liberality

Welcome to my blog!

As a way to vent about the anomalies of life that without a doubt pisses me off and make me question society in general, I decided to create to a blog that targeted those specific anomalies, topics, and issues that voices my thoughts and leave room for discussion. The purpose of this blog is to discuss topics and issues that make liberality limited, this blog will also give you an "inside-Nikki's-head" viewpoint on life!

A little about me:

I'm Nikki Brown, senior at a small women's college in Columbia, South Carolina--very conservative, Liberal Arts College. I major in Psychology and minor in Gender and Women's Studies. I am originally from the historic Charleston, South Carolina where I born and raised by a single mother along with the five other siblings and step-siblings. The household earnings are about $30,000 (in a good year), we very familiar with "the struggle", we live paycheck to paycheck with multiple jobs, credit scores are shitty, and yet, we're content with the little we do have.

Where did I get the title Limited Liberality?

Well, it emerged from me being pissed at the fact that the majority of college and universities in the United States are labeled "liberal arts", yet the majority people in the United States are so ignorant to the things in the world that make up liberality! Having a liberal arts education means that a lot of people (current students, alumnae/i, and educators) are getting paid and paying to think outside of the box, to be engaging inside and outside of the classroom, and yet our country is still not ranked number one for education, science and technology, and not even reproductive rights. What the hell are we doing? I know that everyone does not go to college for different reasons, but with the number of people did go (whether they graduated or not), the thought processes and ideals should have trickled down by now! Those who teach and learn the art of being liberal are those who lack the most liberality.

The term liberality, if you are not familiar with it, is the quality of being open to new ideas and free from prejudices. In my opinion, liberal arts institutions are suppose to teach their students to approach ideas, beliefs, and perspectives of others and themselves with liberality. Some institutions, franchise and market themselves on being liberal arts which make those institutions hella expensive and damn near impossible to get in without near perfect grades, extra-cirriculars, and SAT scores. While institutions, show us better than they can tell us--they encourage their students to be the change the want to see in the world, do things they are passionate about, and have a genuine compassion for the people and issues around them.

It is my firm belief that the liberality that we are being taught in our liberal arts institutions are in fact a limited version of liberality. We are paying for a condensed version of liberality to encourage conformity, deter us from the real issues, and to endorse the wealthy. All of our beliefs about politics, education, foreigners, sex, gender, sexuality, religion, and life in general derived from what we have been taught by our families, teachers, and environment--all our beliefs are socially constructed--they do not belong to us as individuals but to our society. The society that has limited our thought processes to think in the way they want us to think and in a way that we have grown comfortable thinking...our liberality is limited.

DISCLAIMER: This blog will feature my personal OPINIONS on the quality of Liberal Arts education, the challenges that college students face, my perspectives on traditionally taboo and conventional topics (i.e. sex, homosexuality, gender issues, porn, etc.), and just a peek into my unconventional thought processes! It is no way related to or affiliated with my institution of higher education.