K. Krawetzky
Professor McGinnis
English 1101
29 August 2020
My Personal View on Rhetorical Lens
I am Kate Krawetzky and I am a senior at Glynn Academy. I grew up in Connecticut and moved here when I was 12. Moving here was quite a cultural change for me as white people were a majority where I lived growing up. Coming to a place where the majority shifted, it definitely changed some of my personal views on today’s society and social differences.
I feel as though today, more than any other time in history, this subject is more relevant than ever. It has become so easy to see differences in commonplace things in today's world when it comes to race or ethnicity. Just take the places around us for example. I live on a sunny island with beaches and fancy restaurants, but not miles from my home are much lower income, high crime neighborhoods. I feel like this has drastically impacted my social outlook especially when it comes to school and who I go to school with . I’ve been able to open up my social group to many different types of people. I feel like I’ve learned and experienced so much more going to school with people that come from different backgrounds than me.
Living here has not only changed personal views, but it has educated me so much more on African American culture, than it would have if I still lived in Connecticut. For example, living in the north, you don’t see nearly as many public restaurants or stores that are specifically focused towards certain groups of people. Soul food restaurants and barber shops are some examples of colored owned businesses that you would never see anywhere else, besides in the south.
Being a young 17 year old girl in today’s world, has also caused me to experience things that my male counterparts wouldn't have experienced, simply for the fact that they are men. Take the workplace for example. It is no secret that gender in the workplace has commonly impacted the working class in many different ways for a lot of women. Me working in a restaurant setting, I see lots of things everyday. There have been specific situations that I have experienced because of both my age and gender. People use both my age and gender to discredit the experience I have, despite having worked in the same place and have more time and knowledge than others in my similar job position. Some groups of people just find it easier to blame certain things on factors that aren’t at all relevant to the situation. This has changed me in a sense that I now make choices and decisions based on how I feel. I more often stick up for myself, don’t take anyone's negativity, and I also find myself being more adamant about how I want things, not based on other people’s opinions.
With that being said, based on what “group” I am in, I feel as though I am open to everyone. Me making my own choices and not caring what other people think or what they have to say, me communicating with anyone and everyone has become very important to me. Before I moved here and everything in the north was very separated and had many different “groups”, I was part of that. I was considered part of the upper-class families. That’s when me and my friends weren’t open to everyone. Since I moved to Saint Simons, it is very similar, however, living on the island has opened my eyes. I have tried hard to open myself to everyone and I feel as though that I have excelled with that. Being able to communicate with everyone has been and eye opener and I have been able to improve the idea of this with my friends as well. I’ve been able to persuade my closest friends to be open with anyone, no matter what their social group is.
In conclusion, within today’s society, being who I am, I have most definitely lived through enough to know my better judgement. Being able to have moved from two very different places, I was able to undergo a very different mind changing lifestyle than most other people of different comings, wouldn’t have received. Knowing all that I know and seeing what has gone on inside the world and all the people in it, there is and always will be racially motivated prejudice and love, along with gender equality.