Artist statement
My audience is my class. I want to make them aware of our common stressors and how to take right decisions. I believe they will learn it because they are smart. I want them to learn that Alex (a character from the play Intersections) is one example of us at school and we have to be aware of how to deal with our stress. I feel that after this research paper i became more aware of what stress can do to me. I don’t think i didn’t know it, i feel i was not aware of that. So, this is something that had a big impact on me because the cases we see in that play are very real. I would have loved to interview the people who were the inspiration of this play to know what did they do after the play ends because it was interesting to read it.
Two classmates helped me in getting my ideas settled because at the beginning i didn’t know what to write about. Its great to have people willing to hear you and give you a piece of advice. Moreover, i must say that all their advices are in this paper. (Nawal and Francis)
If I had another week i would have read more about stress and maybe I would have given a better idea of understanding Alex (because in this research project i focus on Alex) This is very unique because I felt identified with Alex at the beginning of the play and that was what caught my attention.
Stress in community college students
People from all ages at certain point in life face a plenty of hardships. When it comes to college students is even more complicated because is during that period when they must choose what to study for life. Planning their future can let them suffer from stress that could be very destructive in order to develop their potential in many areas as a students.
In the play Intersections, which is a play where we see different community college students dealing with real life problems,we see Alex (Spanish) who is about to graduate, he tells his sister that he feels pression on him because he was taking so many classes. To this, the sister tells him that he is not going to drop out school because she has been paying for it, if he wants to do something different it must be with his own money. He tries to tell her in the best way he can, It was hard for him to say what he felt.
“What if I take those six classes and I… I fail one. (pause) With all that heavy load, all that work I have to do. That will put me back another semester and I’m there for a longer time, ya know? And then I can’t get out and start working and finally helping out here “. Even though He expressed what he was feeling
He decided to train for the NYPD without knowing that his life was going to change in an unexpected way and one decision taken in one second can change your whole life.
In the article Which Stressors Increase the Odds of College Binge Drinking?
Pedersen states that “Among college students, drinking to cope is a fairly common behavioral response, emerging as both a short-term reaction to situational stress and a long-term coping style that remains strong predictor of heavy alcohol use even when other influences on drinking are controlled for” (Pedersen, 130).
A natural stage for college students is to go out and drink with their friends, sometimes it is most related with the surroundings the student might have. However, everything consumed in excess can harm someone’s health. People who drink are trying to go away from their problems or stressors. When someone like Alex opt for drinking instead facing his problems by taking serious decision or planning how to finish school. It’s easier for those folks to take a bottle of whatever alcoholic drink is to forget about reality. Students with stress disorders should be supported with their advisers or there should have someone to talk with about their problems.
When Alex was training the police officer in charge was being rough on the trainers. This have brought more stress to Alex life. We noticed that when the officer states “We put them through a lot of trials and tests here at the academy. We try to push them as hard as we can because some people are not meant to be police officers.” (Intersections, 15) His life was going to get harder, the system of how officers train in the play demonstrates brutal force trained people are submitted. And consequence of that is that Alex killed someone in desperation because he was out of control, He thought he was doing right and he repeated to himself “The amount of force was reasonable and effective”. Nowadays we see how police officer’s shoots people without thinking that they have other choices instead of pulling the gun.
Tracey Ryan proves in Minor Hassles in Community College Student Life that
Research indicates that students perceive lower stress when they feel more personal control and experience fewer minor hassles. In the future, community colleges may pay more attention to personal control and hassle reduction in their systems related to areas such as advisement, registration, payment, and parking (Ryan, 508).
How can a student have personal control? In this case Alex has never been in control because he did not want to study his major in the first place. Personally, if someone does not do what he likes is most likely that that person won’t find the passion to finish it or at some point in his of her life is going to become a regret. I have always been told that I should study nursing, just like my older sister. I agreed with my parents because the major is well paid. Moreover, when I was trying to get into college I worked so hard because it was new country for me and I have to learn the language. After all my efforts I came to the conclusion that I should do what I like and not what my dad was telling me to follow. However, I did not find that out by myself, I had the support of one teacher who encouraged me to do that I like, and I will always be thankful for that because it literally changed my life. Maybe if Alex had some support his life would have ended differently
To conclude, Alex was doing something that he didn’t have on his mind. The choices he had taken were to make his family happy. For that and other reasons it is very important to think about our future project in life. It should not matter the pression we have from our parents or people from our surroundings.We must make projections of how we want to be 5, 10 or 20 years from now. After that we should consider all the possibilities we have in life to go through it. We should take decisions using logic and reason to walk in the right way in this journey.
Works Cited
PEDERSEN, DAPHNE E. “Which Stressors Increase the Odds of College Binge Drinking?” College Student Journal, vol. 51, no. 1, Spring2017, pp. 129-141. EBSCOhost, mail.lagcc.cuny.edu/viplogin/default.aspx?redirect=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=121530621&site=ehost-live.
Ryan, Tracey E. “Minor Hassles in Community College Student Life.” Community College Journal of Research & Practice, vol. 33, no. 6, June 2009, pp. 502-509. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/10668920802487760
Expectations were Emailed to you professor Polish.
Pre draft assignment 2 Intersections
Rough Draft
http://archive.cunyhumanitiesalliance.org/breathingthroughwriting/2017/05/04/rough-draf/
Peer reviews, I peer reviewed Nawal and Francis but it was orally ( i dont know if that counts( I am sorry))