Review Of Dr. Nandi Karabi's 'An Empty Room'
James Seckelman
May 29th, 2013
English 1A
Instructor Tera Martin
Contents of An Empty Room Life, in the desire for possessing an unbent will for achievement and material prosperity has crippled us of our own emotions. To think like a machine is to feel like one. A slaving regiment, dictating peoples lives, telling you what to do, what to think or what to feel, creates inauthentic and plastic humans . It is a reflection of someone who 's been crafted by the dogma of society and the result of a diminishing voice. The most important facet of life is in the vitality of human emotion and the connections we create with others. The common illusion of today which sells us a defective figure in how to attain bliss is misadvertised by thought …show more content…
that the sweat on our brow is convertible to the currency of happiness. This is true in regard that the yield of hard-work can be the gain in financial asset however, when our incentive is in the value of money and not in the content of our work we become disconnected with what creates us as individuals. In the past year, I have witnessed the deterioration of my character and changing in composition of my personality, as well as the compromise for my sense of worth. The irony is placed in that this was my own bidding. In the creative suffering found by a desperate position for desire in change, I placed myself in the threshold of a vulnerable condition. For the approximate time of one year, I 've lived within the confine of my car witnessing the underworld in the community of homeless. It sparked curiosity for the inception to the conditions of being homeless, which many including myself faced. The following data is the collective of interview reports, data statistics, and related academic journals, placed in a formalized report on the influences of happiness and the compound of achievement by desire.
Seckelman 2 Some argue that happiness is not proprietary and that is it circumstantial only by result of external influences.
The stories of neglected individuals with troubling pasts, ending in a life of sorrow and misery are far too abundant. A life wasted, with potential unachieved and dreams unfulfilled, many blame their former upbringing as a scapegoat to issues faced. During a study conducted in 2012 by Dr. Nandi Karabi as part of a research survey with her UCLA affiliate, it was found that among the total of 350 homeless students between ages 18 to 25, 44 percent had a history of foster care placement (Karabi 7). During the personal interviews conducted on homeless students attending Cabrillo College, it was found that six of the nine, credited their current condition to unfortunate circumstances that were latent in their past. Though I 've never heard of a whistling slave, it can be argued that success is by design and happiness in some effect, by choice. We live in a vulnerable world, one that weighs your worth by the substance of personal achievement. With this comes intense pressures from the surrounding community to maintain a high standing in performance, to preserve ones own security in the future. As part of a “TED” talk titled “The power of vulnerability”, Brene Brown shares insight from her academic research, characterizing the ability to empathize, love and belong. In it, she states that “We form a coping mechanism and selectively numb our emotions suitable to desired …show more content…
or undesired feelings that compliment our daily lives” (TED Talk, Brene Brown). Feelings of regret, shame, fear, grief or disappointment accompanying a prickling mental association with the past, creates a desire to block out those negative emotions. However as part of Brown 's research, it was her finding that when we selectively numb, we inadvertently numb other facets which create the full spectrum of human emotion including joy, gratitude or happiness as well. This can lead to the aforementioned feelings of misery as we search for purpose and meaning, reverting back to a vulnerable state. Passion and purpose for any venture pursued in life is in fact a necessary component for desirable outcomes.
Seckelman 3 During my experience as being homeless, I 've betrayed myself of any feelings in real joy, replacing the seat with the false sense in gratitude for labor rendered. Although it creates a more efficient human, the thing I noticed is that while the quantity of output has increased, the quality of it has diminished. The result is our own enemy. A numbing effect which draws away from the genuine emotions which lead us to possessing innovative qualities and creative insights. In the article published by James Smith regarding the functions of human happiness, it postulates that we must fully embrace vulnerability, to stop controlling and predicting. “It may be the core of shame, fear and the struggle for worthiness, but it is also the birthplace of joy, creativity, love and belonging” (Smith 9). In his study, Smith found that an overwhelming amount of individuals who felt were parched of the joys in life, had a low sense of worthiness and people who possessed happiness simply believed they were worthy of love and belonging. He referred to this disposition as the “courage to be imperfect”. It relates with the idea that compassion cannot be practiced without the ability to treat ourselves with kind respect. Smith further describes his findings in remarking that those individuals whom were the most happy in his case study, were those willing to let go of who they thought they should be in order to be who they were. They acted without consequence of the negative effects in others imposing upon them, to freely embrace their personal qualities for maturing passions. The result of authenticity was, increased human connection as they were confident in who they were, without any false pretenses to their personal character.
When all has withered and washed away it will not be the faces on bill folds which will dawn but the connections established by man and the footprints left by each other.
The fear of disconnect is prevalent in all of us, unfortunately it is a very common theme within the homeless community as is indicated by the high levels of isolation. (Karabi 13) The negative effects that leech our lives and act as agents of poison stack as the catalyst to a domino effect of self destruction and the birth of a defeatist
Seckelman
4 mentality. Many classify themselves into an identity for social construction much as we do our own class of hierarchy between the affluent and the impoverished, creating a distinctive role for how we should act and how we should perform. Those placed in the category of poor or uninfluential stagnate by their own bias of inadequacy. “This denotes the acceptance by a young person of homelessness as a way of life. They often become involved in petty crime, prostitution, drug dealing and a range of other unsafe practices” (O 'Connor 15). It is a volatile function creating not the exception but the rule to the standard of current conditions. Among the nine informants interviewed during a homeless meeting, I arranged on campus, it was found that 2 of them had been placed in former foster care. “They also are at risk for substance abuse or mental illness. Because persons with a history of foster care are at risk for negative psycho-social outcomes” (Karabi 11). The ingredient missing is central cohesion and established support among the community. Because of a social stigma that homeless are often lazy, apathetic or otherwise related with general issues and problems, most are hesitant to be open about their lifestyles and dispositions. Their projections are not far from the truth in regard to the nature of human judgment. It creates a vicious cycle as the individuals fail to reach out to others and their position is further detrimented by their fears in rejection. During my stay as a resident in the homeless community, I 've questioned my advantages to less fortunate comparing my apparent difference in desires for upward mobility and progress. Additional to that I am less pressured by any urgency for survival over matters of academics do to the safety net of my parents and financial wellbeing. One can argue that without a foundation for how to succeed or a learned desire to, an individual of low stature has difficulty in attaining personal harmony over physical and emotional security. “The unique problems encountered by these students frequently interfere with their ability to realize their academic potential and diminish their sense of psychological well-being” (Daniels 6). Perhaps happiness can be summarized as the composition of Maslow 's hierarchy of needs, simply that vagrant individuals of high residential mobility require the base of physiological comforts in order to grow.
Seckelman 5 We have observed the controversies of happiness related with the homeless and the causal effects of withdrawn joy stemming from subdued emotions and lack in the qualities of self worth. This is denoted by the fact that environmental and external influences can play as internal roles in the development of an individuals character as well as their levels of satisfaction in life. Unfortunately motivation in a human is a complex structure of understanding and is subjective by individual choice. The homeless or others whom are less fortunate have this choice, it is simply cloaked by the troubles they face. Achievement is by design not in fate. It is only in the practiced ability to let go and belief that we are enough, remaining authentic and preserving our individuality that we may learn to become happy. In vulnerable conditions of life, we often passively sweep aside difficulties and selectively operate under our favored emotions rather than embrace these challenges. This creates a numbing effect which transpires unto all qualities in emotion, muffling an otherwise brilliant personality. In my efforts during the semester as it approaches conclusion, I 've noticed not a redeeming quality in work performed but a drowning effect of my own feelings. Without passion, by simply perceiving an outcome through a commitment to the dedication in work, you inevitably will smother the potential of greatness otherwise achieved.
Work Cited
Daniels, Judy. "Humanistic Interventions For Homeless Students: Identifying And Reducing Barriers To Their Issues." Journal Of Humanistic Education & Development 33.4 (1995):164. Academic Search Complete. Web. 21 May 2013.
Hallett, Ronald E. "Homeless: How Residential Instability Complicates Students ' Lives." About Campus 15.3 (2010): 11-16. Academic Search Complete. Web. 21 May 2013.
Hudson, Angela L, and Karabi Nandy. "Comparisons Of Substance Abuse, High-Risk Sexual Behavior And Depressive Symptoms Among Homeless Youth With And Without A History Of Foster Care Placement." Contemporary Nurse: A Journal For The Australian Nursing Profession 42.2 (2012): 178-86. Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 May 2013.
Smith, Adam. "Cognitive Empathy And Emotional Empathy In Human Behavior." Psychological Record 56.1 (2006): 3-21. Academic Search Complete. Web. 25 May 2013.
“TED.” TED Ideas Worth Spreading. TED Talks, 14 June 2010. Web. 22 May 2013.
Washington, Philisie Starling. "Homeless Youth: A Concept Analysis." Journal Of Community Health Nursing 28.3 (2011): 168-78. Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 May 2013.
May 29th, 2013
English 1A
Instructor Tera Martin
Contents of An Empty Room Life, in the desire for possessing an unbent will for achievement and material prosperity has crippled us of our own emotions. To think like a machine is to feel like one. A slaving regiment, dictating peoples lives, telling you what to do, what to think or what to feel, creates inauthentic and plastic humans . It is a reflection of someone who 's been crafted by the dogma of society and the result of a diminishing voice. The most important facet of life is in the vitality of human emotion and the connections we create with others. The common illusion of today which sells us a defective figure in how to attain bliss is misadvertised by thought …show more content…
that the sweat on our brow is convertible to the currency of happiness. This is true in regard that the yield of hard-work can be the gain in financial asset however, when our incentive is in the value of money and not in the content of our work we become disconnected with what creates us as individuals. In the past year, I have witnessed the deterioration of my character and changing in composition of my personality, as well as the compromise for my sense of worth. The irony is placed in that this was my own bidding. In the creative suffering found by a desperate position for desire in change, I placed myself in the threshold of a vulnerable condition. For the approximate time of one year, I 've lived within the confine of my car witnessing the underworld in the community of homeless. It sparked curiosity for the inception to the conditions of being homeless, which many including myself faced. The following data is the collective of interview reports, data statistics, and related academic journals, placed in a formalized report on the influences of happiness and the compound of achievement by desire.
Seckelman 2 Some argue that happiness is not proprietary and that is it circumstantial only by result of external influences.
The stories of neglected individuals with troubling pasts, ending in a life of sorrow and misery are far too abundant. A life wasted, with potential unachieved and dreams unfulfilled, many blame their former upbringing as a scapegoat to issues faced. During a study conducted in 2012 by Dr. Nandi Karabi as part of a research survey with her UCLA affiliate, it was found that among the total of 350 homeless students between ages 18 to 25, 44 percent had a history of foster care placement (Karabi 7). During the personal interviews conducted on homeless students attending Cabrillo College, it was found that six of the nine, credited their current condition to unfortunate circumstances that were latent in their past. Though I 've never heard of a whistling slave, it can be argued that success is by design and happiness in some effect, by choice. We live in a vulnerable world, one that weighs your worth by the substance of personal achievement. With this comes intense pressures from the surrounding community to maintain a high standing in performance, to preserve ones own security in the future. As part of a “TED” talk titled “The power of vulnerability”, Brene Brown shares insight from her academic research, characterizing the ability to empathize, love and belong. In it, she states that “We form a coping mechanism and selectively numb our emotions suitable to desired …show more content…
or undesired feelings that compliment our daily lives” (TED Talk, Brene Brown). Feelings of regret, shame, fear, grief or disappointment accompanying a prickling mental association with the past, creates a desire to block out those negative emotions. However as part of Brown 's research, it was her finding that when we selectively numb, we inadvertently numb other facets which create the full spectrum of human emotion including joy, gratitude or happiness as well. This can lead to the aforementioned feelings of misery as we search for purpose and meaning, reverting back to a vulnerable state. Passion and purpose for any venture pursued in life is in fact a necessary component for desirable outcomes.
Seckelman 3 During my experience as being homeless, I 've betrayed myself of any feelings in real joy, replacing the seat with the false sense in gratitude for labor rendered. Although it creates a more efficient human, the thing I noticed is that while the quantity of output has increased, the quality of it has diminished. The result is our own enemy. A numbing effect which draws away from the genuine emotions which lead us to possessing innovative qualities and creative insights. In the article published by James Smith regarding the functions of human happiness, it postulates that we must fully embrace vulnerability, to stop controlling and predicting. “It may be the core of shame, fear and the struggle for worthiness, but it is also the birthplace of joy, creativity, love and belonging” (Smith 9). In his study, Smith found that an overwhelming amount of individuals who felt were parched of the joys in life, had a low sense of worthiness and people who possessed happiness simply believed they were worthy of love and belonging. He referred to this disposition as the “courage to be imperfect”. It relates with the idea that compassion cannot be practiced without the ability to treat ourselves with kind respect. Smith further describes his findings in remarking that those individuals whom were the most happy in his case study, were those willing to let go of who they thought they should be in order to be who they were. They acted without consequence of the negative effects in others imposing upon them, to freely embrace their personal qualities for maturing passions. The result of authenticity was, increased human connection as they were confident in who they were, without any false pretenses to their personal character.
When all has withered and washed away it will not be the faces on bill folds which will dawn but the connections established by man and the footprints left by each other.
The fear of disconnect is prevalent in all of us, unfortunately it is a very common theme within the homeless community as is indicated by the high levels of isolation. (Karabi 13) The negative effects that leech our lives and act as agents of poison stack as the catalyst to a domino effect of self destruction and the birth of a defeatist
Seckelman
4 mentality. Many classify themselves into an identity for social construction much as we do our own class of hierarchy between the affluent and the impoverished, creating a distinctive role for how we should act and how we should perform. Those placed in the category of poor or uninfluential stagnate by their own bias of inadequacy. “This denotes the acceptance by a young person of homelessness as a way of life. They often become involved in petty crime, prostitution, drug dealing and a range of other unsafe practices” (O 'Connor 15). It is a volatile function creating not the exception but the rule to the standard of current conditions. Among the nine informants interviewed during a homeless meeting, I arranged on campus, it was found that 2 of them had been placed in former foster care. “They also are at risk for substance abuse or mental illness. Because persons with a history of foster care are at risk for negative psycho-social outcomes” (Karabi 11). The ingredient missing is central cohesion and established support among the community. Because of a social stigma that homeless are often lazy, apathetic or otherwise related with general issues and problems, most are hesitant to be open about their lifestyles and dispositions. Their projections are not far from the truth in regard to the nature of human judgment. It creates a vicious cycle as the individuals fail to reach out to others and their position is further detrimented by their fears in rejection. During my stay as a resident in the homeless community, I 've questioned my advantages to less fortunate comparing my apparent difference in desires for upward mobility and progress. Additional to that I am less pressured by any urgency for survival over matters of academics do to the safety net of my parents and financial wellbeing. One can argue that without a foundation for how to succeed or a learned desire to, an individual of low stature has difficulty in attaining personal harmony over physical and emotional security. “The unique problems encountered by these students frequently interfere with their ability to realize their academic potential and diminish their sense of psychological well-being” (Daniels 6). Perhaps happiness can be summarized as the composition of Maslow 's hierarchy of needs, simply that vagrant individuals of high residential mobility require the base of physiological comforts in order to grow.
Seckelman 5 We have observed the controversies of happiness related with the homeless and the causal effects of withdrawn joy stemming from subdued emotions and lack in the qualities of self worth. This is denoted by the fact that environmental and external influences can play as internal roles in the development of an individuals character as well as their levels of satisfaction in life. Unfortunately motivation in a human is a complex structure of understanding and is subjective by individual choice. The homeless or others whom are less fortunate have this choice, it is simply cloaked by the troubles they face. Achievement is by design not in fate. It is only in the practiced ability to let go and belief that we are enough, remaining authentic and preserving our individuality that we may learn to become happy. In vulnerable conditions of life, we often passively sweep aside difficulties and selectively operate under our favored emotions rather than embrace these challenges. This creates a numbing effect which transpires unto all qualities in emotion, muffling an otherwise brilliant personality. In my efforts during the semester as it approaches conclusion, I 've noticed not a redeeming quality in work performed but a drowning effect of my own feelings. Without passion, by simply perceiving an outcome through a commitment to the dedication in work, you inevitably will smother the potential of greatness otherwise achieved.
Work Cited
Daniels, Judy. "Humanistic Interventions For Homeless Students: Identifying And Reducing Barriers To Their Issues." Journal Of Humanistic Education & Development 33.4 (1995):164. Academic Search Complete. Web. 21 May 2013.
Hallett, Ronald E. "Homeless: How Residential Instability Complicates Students ' Lives." About Campus 15.3 (2010): 11-16. Academic Search Complete. Web. 21 May 2013.
Hudson, Angela L, and Karabi Nandy. "Comparisons Of Substance Abuse, High-Risk Sexual Behavior And Depressive Symptoms Among Homeless Youth With And Without A History Of Foster Care Placement." Contemporary Nurse: A Journal For The Australian Nursing Profession 42.2 (2012): 178-86. Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 May 2013.
Smith, Adam. "Cognitive Empathy And Emotional Empathy In Human Behavior." Psychological Record 56.1 (2006): 3-21. Academic Search Complete. Web. 25 May 2013.
“TED.” TED Ideas Worth Spreading. TED Talks, 14 June 2010. Web. 22 May 2013.
Washington, Philisie Starling. "Homeless Youth: A Concept Analysis." Journal Of Community Health Nursing 28.3 (2011): 168-78. Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 May 2013.