Artifact 3

The blog posts from Temple University’s study abroad program that I chose to read and review for this assignment were that of Cahleb Derry. Cahleb is a student traveling abroad to Rome to get a better understanding of the language, the people, and culture while also being able to explore and get comfortable in a foreign land. The main feelings that he starts with in his initial blog post were serious feelings of anxiety. I was able to relate with that on a pretty deep level because as I’ve gotten older, I’ve been able to notice my own feelings of anxiety about big and small things. Cahleb’s theme throughout his initial blog post as well as the others to come have been heavily based on the emotions of his study abroad trip and that is what I’ll be focusing on.

Artifact 2

The archived item from module 5 was interesting to me because it was the first time I can recall relating the relationship I had with my parents growing up to how I am as a more developed man today. We are always told how much we begin to reflect our parents when we get older, and it wasn’t until recently that I was able to actually see that happening in my own life. I learned that so many of the things I got frustrated with in regards to my parents and how they chose to discipline me are actually things I try not to take for granted now because of the impact I feel they’ve actually had on my life. I think this assignment helped me to feel grounded in my own up bringing and how I reflect the values taught to me as a young person. I definitely believe that my behavior mostly mirrors the values I hold close and try to work on everyday, especially when it comes to how I choose function in society.

Artifact 1

I enjoyed the archived item from Module 3 because it allowed me to be able to start of the semester by claiming and representing something that adds significantly to my gender and my background as a man. I am a proud brother of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and since joining in 2015 I know that, as a man, my fraternity has definitely helped to mold me into the man I am now in 2019. Over the course of 4 years I have had the privilege to build life long relationships with other men that value things that I do and even rely on on them to build me up as a man. An important aspect of my culture, as a black man, is to learn more about my history and the history of the people who proceeded me; my fraternity challenges me to do this daily. This archived item was important to me because often times I find myself forgetting exactly what my fraternity brothers mean to me and how they impact my day to day life.