International Women’s Day Celebration, hosted by High Point and YWCA

            I attended the International Women’s Day Celebration and had a great time. The event offered music, performances, and food. I was very excited when I walked in because the environment was very lively. There were a ton of people that were dressed up and smiling surrounding the place with music and poems. It was very much a celebration of women from different communities by sharing their artwork. Although I was one of the only guys in the event compared to the number of women, they still welcomed me.

The environment and vibe couldn’t have been any better. Some of the women were dressed up for their performances as well to express the tradition of the women’s work. After performance’s the room exploded with applause and smiles. After being in your class and speaking about women in other countries, I was happy to see the appreciation for women all over the world. It is amazing that that large of a group of people can meet together in High Point, NC. It felt good to appreciate women from across the globe after learning how women are treated in some countries. From the event in 2016 Zoe Garber said, “Being in a room full of strong, intelligent and wonderful women of many cultures spanning the globe really captured what International Women’s Day is all about.” I agree with that statement 100%.

If I wasn’t taking your course this event would not have met nearly as much as it did. Now that I have learned how women are treated and perceived in other countries, I can now appreciate their talents and novels to my full extent. In my opinion, the documentary about the women from India really gave me a great since of perspective. After seeing the women participating in the beauty pageant being forced to get injections, my perspective changed. The contrast was between the participants and the woman who was leading a school and focusing on Hinduism and discipline. But, you quickly understand that even the women participating in the beauty pageant don’t have a great life. Women in India rarely have the blessing to make their own decisions. Most of the time, their parents kill them or give them up for adoption as soon as its declared they are a woman. It is extremely sad and heartbreaking. That documentary really expanded by perspective on women in other countries.

            Overall, this experience was amazing. I chose to attend this event because of a change in knowledge and perspective in class. It made me happy to see a celebration of women internationally after seeing all the hardships they go through. I’m very excited to learn more about women in other countries and their traditions. I had the time to think about how sad it was that women done have much freedom in India and other countries, but also the time to rejoice and celebrate women in other countries. Thank you for the opportunity to attend this event.

I attended the Phoenix Reading Series with Barbara Keiler. I attended this event because it was honestly placed at a great time of day based on my class schedule. The event was on Friday and lasted about an hour and half. Barbara Keiler spoke about herself at the beginning by giving a quick introduction. She is the author of over a hundred mass market novels in multiple genres. Most of her novels are romance and mystery. She has degrees from Brown University and Smith College. She spoke about her journey and how much work she put in to be successful. She wanted us to know that its important to write about your passion and imagination brings to you regardless of what others will think. She also opened the floor for questions many times and wanted it to be very interactive. One part that drew my attention was when she spoke about her work ethic and how many times she was told no and continued to work. This event reminded me of class when we talked about the book we just finished. The author knew that some people in her area wouldn’t appreciate the book and would judge her. But, she wrote it anyway and had great success. The “key takeaway” was to work hard no matter what and listen to your heart and imagination when it comes to the content you choose to write about. She also spoke about how she isn’t only speaking about writing. All of these things she spoke about can apply to any aspect of life. Its about giving your all in whatever you do while have a large confidence for yourself. You must follow your heart so you don’t have any regrets when you are no longer able to produce for your company. I really enjoyed this event and learned a lot. The rest of the weekend I found myself putting these life lessons into play whether I was doing homework or working out. Writing this just brings me back to the moment of inspiration. She also spoke about more specifics of English, but I was so wrapped up in finding the “key takeaway”. Which I feel like I did find for sure and took away as much information i could. I really enjoyed this event.