Minnesota Lawmaker's Gay Marriage Defense.

I saw an article on Yahoo.com that really caught my eye. It's a lawmaker making an amazing argument while speaking about gay peoples right to wed. He talks about nature vs. nurture, and do we choose who we are or are we born a certain way. Take a look and I promise you won't be disappointed.

Response 3: Poetry Lessons

The only thing I can say is that I wasn't the biggest fan of poetry before walking into Professor Brady's class. While I still struggle with being able to write a poem without sounding like a kindergartner, I find myself having a little bit more respect for poetry this time around. I found that if I relate poetry to music, it becomes easier for me to flow ideas. I am proud to say that poetry is no longer my enemy and I had a great time listening and reading my classmates poetry!

Response 2: Sympathy vs. Empathy

I really enjoyed this lesson because I’ve always felt strongly about this subject. Sympathy is the ability to recognize pain, but not truly understand the full hurt of the situation because it has never been experienced. Empathy is a far greater understanding of the word pain. When a person shows empathy, they not only recognize pain, they also have a connection with the pain and have felt a similar sting. I can empathize with someone who’s had a father they has had a heart attack because I’ve been in those shoes. I’ve felt what it is like to be in that situation. I can only sympathize with someone who has lost a father due to a heart attack because I have never had to deal with that yet. It’s hard during a time of hurt when someone tells you they know how you feel, when in actuality they haven’t got the slightest clue what’s really going on inside.

Class Response 1: Class Poem

Even though it was the last class lecture of the semester, I really enjoyed the class poem that was created by everyone submitting a few lines about their culture/family. It really brought home the idea that we are what our relatives were. While there may be some variation in ideals, we are what God and our parents have given us. It’s hard to stray from the normal existence that we were raised to acknowledge and follow. Instantly, I thought of deer following the same paths, nearly to the exact point’s everyday for their entire lives. We to, are creatures of habit. The paths that we take in our life will not only define us, but will give direction to those who come long after.