Birmingham Jail Reflection

A time that I felt out of place was my first few days at college. My parents had just left and I knew no one. I was in a strange environment and didn't know what to do. I felt this way because I was used to my same routine for almost 18 years. To feel comfortable in this new environment, I had to find a place where I could be myself but also find a new routine.

Analysis of “Letter from A Birmingham Jail.” “Actually, time itself is neutral; it can be used either destructively or constructively” (MLK 5). On April 12th, 1963 eight Alabama Clergymen made a public statement regarding Martin Luther King, Jr.’s protests in Birmingham. They referred to the protests as unwise, untimely, and as an act to precipitate violence. They ask for the Negro community to withdraw support from the protests, stating that they are counterproductive to creating peace in Birmingham.

Most transformative moments in life can be caused by the smallest of occurrences in life. Often people do not even realize that a pivotal moment in their life is happening. Someone may realize when they are mature enough that there was one special moment during their childhood that ultimately determined their lifelong goal. For others, they probably realized an “aha” moment right when it happened and from then on decided that they knew what they want to accomplish later on. I actually have taken from both sides of the spectrum from realizing that one special transformative moment but also not even knowing that it would end up steering me towards my current career choice.

Everyone has their own passion, mine is music. I love listening to music whenever I have a free time. I used to think that music was the right career for me to pursue, but as I grow older I realized that it was just a dream. To be successful in the music industry one must be hard-working and must practice a lot. I knew I was not that kind of a person.

My favorite interest amongst these four would be music. The reason for this is mostly accountable to its versatility. Soccer has predetermined rules. Science has settled methods and definitions as does philosophy. The boundaries of music are seen as nominal because things such as genre only play a minimal role.

We communicate in many ways, either by email, telephone, text, face to face, social media or letters and the language we use allows us to get things done, nonetheless the language and communication method in which we chose to use can vary depending on the discourse community. Much like John Swales suggests a discourse community involves a group of people who share the same common public goals, such as shared interests, rules, structure, and vocabulary. When thinking about the several discourse communities I am evolved in, which include family, coaching football, college student, and a few friends. These discourse communities have influenced me, given me insight of where I come from and tell who I am as a person. I also believe much like Swales,

When it comes to music, I like to listen to R&B , rap, pop , West African songs and a little bit of Korean music. I like to listen to R&B because the songs make sense. The songs usually talk about a situation I can resonate with, whether it be relationships or life struggles. R&B songs are slow pace songs that you can listen to when you are relaxing. Whereas, rap songs are fast pace and the content discussed is about money , girls and drugs.

Life is a Stage The warmth of the bright lights, cascading down upon you, that gleam on the shiny metal, as you stand there ready, ready to receive the critique you have been anticipating for days. The judge looks at you, and the world stops. You’re nervous of course, but you know you did well. You practiced and practiced forever to earn this, but you did it and that’s more than can be said for many people in your position.

Aristotle once said “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance”. Personally, music has been a part of my life for the majority of my existence. I have participated in the music programs at my local schools throughout the entirety of my education thus far and I plan to expand my knowledge in the following years at university. Much like many other students, music has become such a vital part of my life; I plan on continuing my musical passion for the years to come. Throughout my years in music, I have also experienced threats from the school district, the state, and even the nation to take away the funding for music programs in public schools.

Music has always been a huge factor in everyone’s life. It is what wakes us up in the morning, makes us want to move, and cools us down when we are feeling despondent about something. Not only it serves as one of our greatest influences in the world, but it also defines who we are as human beings. Music gives us the strength we need to move forward, to achieve our goals, and to believe that we have the power to change the fate of our world. Sometimes in life, we just feel a rush of emotions sweeping through our minds, and we don’t know how to control them.

Discourse communities are defined by Swales as sharing a common goal, possessing mechanisms of intercommunication, using those mechanisms to provide information and feedback, communication using at least one genre, utilizing a specific lexis, and being composed of varying levels of expertise. Applying these criteria reveal my own membership in various discourse communities in which I am an active participant. Among the groups established by the rules provided by Swales, several obvious personal examples quickly come to mind. These include enrollment at the University of Texas at El Paso, Membership in the Medical Professions Organization, participation in a research lab on campus, and being employed as an official of little league baseball.