I have been with Voices for Refugees for over two years now and I have seen the group mould and transform through different stages, different people and different environments. Having been in the group for this long I have grown an affinity with it. It has influenced me and I hope I have influenced it. I recall my very first sessions with the group. The “Why not?” that brought me there and the lessons I have learned. I learnt three things being with Voices the first being that the world is not always about ourselves, there are 7 billion other people who also call this rock home. The second is that apathy comes from either a lack of knowledge or an over-accumulation of it without emotional response. Knowledge combats a lot of things: fear, ignorance, the IB, but the interesting thing is that an accumulation of too much information without emotional connection leads to a nihilistic response to the world. The third, however, is that neuroplasticity exists and conventions and mindsets can be changed if put into the right circumstances. I felt that in myself. Before joining the focus group, I could have cared less about refugees. All I did was feel bad and go on apathetically with my life. Things change you, for the better or worse and it is up to us to decide which one it is. I can safely say that the group has changed me for the better.
Carol Ann Duffy and her carefully articulated poems
Carol Ann Duffy is an incredible poet who I have barely read before our English classes. Her meticulous crafting of words breaks through the dispositions of society. She takes stereotypes and twists them to our disgust. Disgust in ourselves and at society for upholding such beliefs. I admire her use of extended metaphors for ideas and how she merges different metaphors to create a solar system of ideas, celestial in nature. The grounding of these distant ideas truly brings her poems to an empyreal level.
Wordsmith, Wole Soyinka and translated poetry
Poetry is an incredibly condensed form of literature. Each word carefully tailor-fitted to make each stanza a whole. Like the saying goes: “God is in the details”. However, when talking about translation, things go awry. The example of the Bible, with over hundreds of different versions and texts emerging from the simple act of translation. The phrase, “lost in translation” truly becomes a reality. The words that may rhyme in one language may distort in another. Rhyme in one language almost becomes useless as it loses its effect in another. One might even extend the same to connotation or internal rhyme. Despite this, I realise that the hardest job is to be the translator, ensuring that the message is still conveyed despite the language barrier.
Poetry lost in translation is however a beautiful thing. It adds a layer of complexity, a layer of misguided truth. The translated version is a version of the poem by another. In a way, the translation of a poem is an analysis of it redrafted into the translation. Therefore, analysing an already analysed poem seems like a feat that is difficult, yet we are able to do it. It brings a deeper sense of meaning to the piece, which condenses the condensed into a careful explanation of the double meanings.
Student Voice: an experience with empowerment
Student Voice has been an eye-opening experience despite my unvoluntary acceptance of the spot. I did not want to be in student voice and a part of me still does not want to be in it, however, for lack of another’s willing self-nomination I had to be the one placed in the job. A part of me does not want to be in Student voice because of the multitude of tasks I am already in. I already feel spread thin and I want to be as committed as I can to my other passions.
My experience with empowerment in student voice has been almost the same as in most things, but I think that is where I realised it. You don’t have to take a position in the student council or student voice to feel empowered, you can do it in so many ways. I felt that in so many other advocacies and I still continue to feel that. Student voice for me is not only something that added more to my plate but experience with tackling organisation skills and that if you prioritise well, you can add quite a lot to your plate
Measurements of Me
Personality tests have always puzzled me, they have always gotten most things right or none at all. According to 16 personalities, I am a Mediator. One who is idealistic, altruistic, creative, imaginative and thoughtful. I can say I am all of those in day to day life. However, I do not perceive myself as entirely idealistic. I am quite pessimistic about the world, but I have seen the beauty it can give. I can say that through personal reflection, I am both. I try to, as much as I can, integrate both realist and idealist views. I am involved in many advocacies and enjoy helping others.
I am also apparently open to creative careers. One of them is writing. I do enjoy writing and the arts in general incredibly. I have jumped through different mediums: Fine Art, Theatre, Music, and more, and I am fascinated in expression. I feel limited by such descriptions because with the segregation and demarcation of what you can and cannot do is quite imprisoning. I also apparently do not work in high-stress environments, which I feel is accurate but I still survive.
One of my favourite movies is Amelie, and I was pleased to share her personality type.
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