Novel Blog Post #1 (Bird by Bird)

From even the first page I have really liked the conversational, story-telling style that the book is written in. When this assignment was first explained that we would be reading books about the writing process I think everyone gave a bit of a groan (mostly internal, some external) but I am enjoying it as much as any good novel that I've ever read. She recounts her childhood in a way that makes you want to keep just drinking the stories up. I guess it should be expected that a book about writing should be written well, but I suppose I was a bit of a skeptic. But every part is really well written. The descriptions of both characters and events are superb so far. I looking forward to the rest...

Factoid Friday #12

This one was less facts and more interpreting a plethora of personal stories and accounts and realizing that a common thread is the often unstatement but exceptionally negative connotation of institutionalization among people dealing with mental illness.

About Mental Illness. (n.d.). NAMI. Retrieved November 18, 2013, from http://www.nami.org/template.cfm?section=about_mental_illness

Commencement Personal Reflection

I was interesting to go back and write a commencement speech for the eighth grade 3 years after I gave one as an eighth grader. It's baffling to see how much has changed. I reread what I had written and the aspects of my life that I held above all other then are almost unrecognizable from what's important to me today. I really liked the nonspecificity of the prompt. It was freeing to spend just a little bit of time rambling about advice I would formally give to my younger peers. I think that we often have advice, just never a good venue in which to share it. Humans are almost obsessed with sharing our experiences and trying to influence others before they make the same mistakes as us. It's the reason we teach history to our children. At the same time I realized how much of a distaste I have for formal speeches, they always seem to fall flat to me. Even those that are passed around the internet. But oh well... A very self-reflective project overall.

Thesis. As of right now.

Despite a movement started altruistically in the 70's to remove the mentally ill from institutions, there are many factors, both economic and moral, to consider in the debate about the best way to to treat mental illness.

Running Reference Page

link: Google Doc

Infomercial #2

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yM3WUdBR0wE&feature=youtu.be&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DyM3WUdBR0wE%26feature%3Dyoutu.be

Factoid Friday 11

A new study conducted by Oregon State of California's mental health care systems that were implemented in 2004 has interesting new evidence. They found that, in most cases, comprehensive, community-based mental health care has helped those with mental illness transition to more independent living and may actually save the state money while reducing the negative effects of institutionalization on patients' lives.

Yoon, J. (2013, October 2). News & Research Communications. California's new mental health system helps people live independently. Retrieved November 14, 2013, from http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2013/oct/california%E2%80%99s-new-mental-health-system-helps-people-live-independently

Response: MLK "Birmingham"

"...we were the victims of a broken promise." Is very striking emotionally to me because it is said so plainly. He seems to be showing that under such a harsh system, the victims themselves are beginning to break. It also speaks deeply to the public, I think, because the US places such importance on truth and unbroken promises, while in reality, we have rarely followed our own moral code and it is now a very sensitive topic.

"I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. We have some eighty­ five affiliated organizations across the South, and one of them is the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights." This is an almost infallible appeal to the authority of King in that he is literally just stating his importance in a prestigious organization.

"In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self­purification; and direct action." I was drawn to this appeal to logic because lists, and breaking things down into smaller, more understandable parts, is comforting to most people and can often appease their doubts about something that seems like a massive issue.

Argument Project Self-Analysis (racial profiling)

In retrospect, I feel pretty guilty for snatching up the con-side without discussion. I hadn't realized how close-to-impossible the pro-side would be, particularly the valid argument, that Darwin and Lennart got stuck with. When the four of us were discussing the topic, it really dawned on me just how racist that whole system is. We essentially couldn't come up with a single valid argument for it. And it's amazing how the public just accepts policies like this, obviously without thought, because the issues are really quite plain if you just look at them. In terms of my own presentation, I was disappointed. I was pleased with what I had actually written, but the day we presented, for some unidentifiable reason, I pretty much lost my ability to enunciate. All of the complicated diction I had included, I was suddenly unable to pronounce. Which was a bummer. But I was pleasantly surprised with how close I was to being near the time goal. When I had rehearsed, it was about 15 seconds under, but in front of the class I inched a little closer. Overall, I really enjoyed this project. It was both amusing but also contemplative to see all of these ridiculous arguments for current issues our society is dealing with, and to see just how many people are oblivious to logical fallacies in our daily lives.

Factoid Friday 9

Those with mental illness make up a disproportionate amount of the people in our nation's prison system and it would actually save us money to treat it before it reaches our prisons. In a study conducted in Florida, over the period of 2005-2012 patients that did not receive mental health care from the state costed the state on average $95,000 while those that did only cost the state around $68,000. This study also notes that 70% of all young people in the juvenile detention system in the US have some form of mental illness.


Kirchner, Lauren . "Treating Mental Illness Prevents Crime and Saves Us Money." Pacific Standard. Pacific Standard , 14 June 2013. Web. 11 Nov. 2013. <http://www.psmag.com/health/treating-mental-illness-prevents-crime-and-saves-us-money-60236/>.

Commencement Speech Selection

I chose JK Rowling's commencement speech given at Harvard in 2008.

The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination

Factoid Friday #10

Deinstitutionlization efforts are reflecting a shift from "asylum-based" mental health care to a model based on community, based on the belief that physiatrist patients would have a higher quality of life in their own communities than in “large, undifferentiated, and isolated mental hospitals”.

"Module 2: A Brief History of Mental Illness and the U.S. Mental Health Care System." A Brief History of Mental Illness and the U.S. Mental Health Care System. Unite for Sight, Inc. , n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2013. <http://www.uniteforsight.org/mental-health/module2>.