Impressed By Levins Morales' Arts

In the book "Beginner's Guide to Community-Based Arts" by Keith Knight, Mat Schwarzman, and many others, the story that struck me as really interesting and impactful was Ricardo Levins Morales' story. According to the book, Ricardo Levins Morales is a union artist and known as a "Visual Griot." What struck me as interesting in this story was Levins Morales' openness to the pervasive thoughts and opinions he came across. Not only was he open to listening to views different from his own, but he was bold and taking risks to travel with strangers and ask them about their lives. To top it all off, he takes all that information and portrays it through his art. He would have to pay attention to not only the objective facts of the information he receives but also the tone and attitude of the one sharing. It's great that he is able to take drawing, something he's passionate about, and influence the world to make changes for what he believes in. He could easily be keeping the information he receives and his art he creates to himself, but he tries to do something with it. He continues to share that information.

Asian Privilege

Our society often talks about the "White Privilege" yet rarely of other races' privilege, so this task of considering my own privileges was a bit difficult at first. But, once I really contemplated and thought about "Asian Privilege," many ideas came to mind. 

1.  Just as Caucasians are less likely to be suspected or searched at the airport security check, I've noticed that Asian Americans are just as unlikely to be suspected or searched. I think my dad has been checked once though, which may be due to his extremely dark skin tone. 

2. Given the benefit of the doubt more often than others to make a few mistakes due to the stereotype that Asians are hard-working.

3. Even as an Asian American female, I think people usually assume that I'm docile and harmless.

4. While Asian Americans are considered a minority, Asian Americans often get experiences beyond that of other minority races due to being seen as the "model minority."

5. Due to Asian American genes, we tend to look younger than we actually are. This might actually help open up more opportunities to Asian Americans of the same age as other races. 

6. Asian Americans receive more opportunities in education and career choices due to the assumptions that Asian Americans are intelligent and hard-working. 

7. When discussing scientific, mathematical, or intellectual topics,  what Asian Americans say usually are respected due to the assumption that they're very intelligent and study a lot.

8. Asian Americans trust other Asian Americans fairly easily due to similar features, regardless if they're the same ethnicity or not. For example, Japanese people will trust me over a Caucasian person even though I'm not Japanese.

9. People assume Asian Americans are very filial.

These privileges are simply stereotypes of Asian Americans with a positive interpretation. I believe that any of these privileges can just as easily backfire and be disadvantages. For example, many people resent Asian Americans for being the "model minority." Sometimes, I've even heard jokes dripping with disdain about how an exam's curve was thrown off probably due to "some Asian kid" scoring a 100. Also, employers may also assume that Asian Americans are intelligent hard-workers, but they also just as easily assume that Asian Americans are too docile to be a good employee who should be innovative and takes risks. All that to say, these stereotypes of Asian Americans can be privileges or disadvantages, depending on the circumstances and the people's interpretation of the stereotypes.

Cultural Representatives

Choosing 5 symbols of my culture was fun yet proved to be quite challenging. I enjoyed (and was slightly frustrated) trying to think of creative representatives of my culture within my possessions. It really made me consider what exactly is my culture. Through this exercise, I had a more concrete understanding of how culture does not only equate to my ethnicity. So, here are my 5 cultural representatives with a brief explanation!

Cross pendant : It was a gift from my mother for my baptism. The cross represents my biggest sphere of influence: my family. Her faith in God greatly impacted my community, mindset and attitudes, and family dynamics that would be the foundation to shaping who I am today. Though I did not choose where to be born, who my family would be, and other ascribed factors, I do not find them to be limiting nor restrictively binding. Rather, I believe them to be blessings and opportunities. It gave me a starting point from where I would explore the world from. Just as this cross displays my beliefs, it also displays the inexhaustible appreciation I have for my family.

Tofu pendant : It was a gift from a good friend for our high school graduation. This pendant represents my second biggest sphere of influence: my friends. I grew up with a very solid circle of friends from elementary school to present day. Despite the physical separation due to college, we all still keep in touch throughout the school year. Simply put, they encourage and walk alongside me in my darkest times; they challenge and empower me to be the best I can be. This short description does not do justice for the community I have found in these friends.

Guava Juice: Guava is one of my favorite fruits. I do not have any actual guavas, so I will just have to settle for guava juice (Plus, the one I have is a product of Taiwan!) Though guava may not be a native fruit to Taiwan, it has been cultivated there, and it represents my Taiwanese heritage in my eyes. My family, including my grandparents, likes to eat guava with sour plum powder, so I have always eaten in that fashion. With that being said, the guava juice also represents my family as a sphere of influence as well.

Yukata: I bought it as a souvenir from Japan a couple of years ago. My yukata represents the influence of my personal activities and interests. Though I am not of Japanese descent, I have a great deal of interest towards Japanese culture. A couple of years ago, I knew I wanted to go on a summer project with my campus ministry, Epic Movement. Due to many other factors and my interest in Japanese culture, I chose the Japan summer project. It was also the first time I traveled to serve others and not for my own purposes. I thoroughly enjoyed traveling to serve others. From that trip, I have gained such valuable and priceless experience with my project team members and the people I encountered there. What happened in Japan did not stay in Japan. I believe that I have grown so much as a child of God, a person, and as a global citizen through my trip to Japan.

Bevo Stuffed Animal : He was a gift from my sister when she was a UT undergraduate student. Bevo represents another sphere of influence: college. As many of those who will be reading this know, the University of Texas' political climate is very liberal. Well, it is for Texas anyway. Though I have not yet completely consolidated my own political views, the political climate at UT has helped me begin to shape my own views.

About Me

My name is Rosanna Lin. I'm a psychology major interested in counseling. There isn't a solid, definite reason to why I want to pursue counseling, but it's the only subject I do have interest in so far. I really enjoyed the course, "Introduction to Clinical Psychology," so I decided to take more courses similar to it. The next course that continued to feed my interest was "Identity Formation." Before that course, I despised writing papers of any kind. I couldn't seem to organize my thoughts well enough to create an eloquently written paper, but the papers for "Identity Formation" were much easier for me to write. All I had to do was write papers about the interviews I conducted and what/why I could conclude about the person through the interview. I found all the information, skills, and theories we learned in "Identity Formation" to be very intriguing. Now, I'm excited for the "Loss and Grief: Individual and Family Perspective" and this "Global Project Development" courses I'm currently in. I want to learn how to reach out to various cultures, especially Asian cultures where people don't like to actively seek help.