Comments on: Q1: Cheyenne http://genstuck.wbur.org/blog/cheyenne/896/ Twelve 20-somethings chronicle their lives for WBUR. Fri, 07 Dec 2012 19:12:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.3 By: Gee http://genstuck.wbur.org/blog/cheyenne/896/#comment-139 Thu, 04 Oct 2012 18:16:00 +0000 http://genstuck.wbur.org/?p=896#comment-139 We Americans have a very powerful bias in our understanding of personal hardship. We prefer to look first for any sign of personal fault, weakness or error as an explanation for the circumstances in which a person or group find themselves. We have more difficulty however looking beyond the individual, to consider the larger societal, structural factors that underlie “failure” or “success”. After all, ours is supposed to be a nation of individual meritocracy, where we pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps and anything is possible if you just work hard enough. There is some truth to that, of course. But if taken as an absolute, what of those who haven’t “succeeded”? Are they poor and unemployed because they didn’t work hard enough? Didn’t believe in themselves enough? No. It’s more complicated than that.

All too often, we turn these same beliefs and judgements inward upon ourselves, too. No wonder there are so many Americans suffering from anxiety and depression, when what we need is compassion for ourselves and others, along with a healthy measure of emotional resilience, to help us through these difficult times.
Individual factors certainly play a big role in a person’s life course, but they aren’t the whole story. Everyone has flaws, everyone makes mistakes. That doesn’t mean they somehow deserve to be where they are. Bad things happen even to the best of us. Disease, war, economic collapse, bad/absent mentoring affect us all. Rather than face these truths, sometimes It’s easier to distance ourselves from others and their struggles, because they remind us too much of our own fears/inadequacies.

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By: CircusMcGurkus http://genstuck.wbur.org/blog/cheyenne/896/#comment-114 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 03:06:00 +0000 http://genstuck.wbur.org/?p=896#comment-114 Umm, pot? You are the same color as the kettle:

“Did nobody notice that she spelled “theatre” wrong in the picture?…
This series has lacked a bit in substance and/or it’s ability to
generate sympathy for it’s subjects, and now I’m starting to wonder if
those behind the scenes are also complaining about being stuck while
they can’t even spot or edit something so obvious.”

Because, you see, Anonymous – “it’s” is NOT the possessive of “it”. That would be “its”. “It’s” means “it is”, it is a contraction, not a possessive. Ergo, your comment on Cheyenne’s misspelling had the identical error of which you complained. TWICE. And if you ask me, Cheyenne’s sweetness is significantly more appealing than your chastising. But, your error is much, much funnier.

AS you note, proofreading is vital. Good point, Anonymous.

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By: Sam P. http://genstuck.wbur.org/blog/cheyenne/896/#comment-94 Tue, 25 Sep 2012 19:43:00 +0000 http://genstuck.wbur.org/?p=896#comment-94 Making a mistake that she can admit to certainly does not make her lazy or sloppy in other areas. Never make a mistake yourself? Surely you can move on…

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By: Anonymous http://genstuck.wbur.org/blog/cheyenne/896/#comment-93 Tue, 25 Sep 2012 19:35:00 +0000 http://genstuck.wbur.org/?p=896#comment-93 Don’t be embarrassed! We only point it out constructively because one thing recruiters will tell you is that the cover letter and resume have to be perfect. One spelling or grammatical error can get your resume thrown out. So proofreading is vital. I hope that is helpful. Don’t be embarrassed, it takes a lot of bravery to be on this series.

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By: Cheyenne http://genstuck.wbur.org/blog/cheyenne/896/#comment-92 Tue, 25 Sep 2012 19:18:00 +0000 http://genstuck.wbur.org/?p=896#comment-92 Thanks

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By: Cheyenne http://genstuck.wbur.org/blog/cheyenne/896/#comment-91 Tue, 25 Sep 2012 19:03:00 +0000 http://genstuck.wbur.org/?p=896#comment-91 Well, I hope you can find some sympathy in the fact that taking pictures of myself makes me nervous enough to misspell something that is obviously going to be seen.
Also, I don’t think complaining is anyone’s goal here. I appreciate the forum to not only be able to hash out how I feel about my situation, that I do feel is tough, but to also get acquainted with people with similar circumstances but in different situations. Hopefully, as we have just started, you will find some substance as we go on.

Thanks for reading. And now I will make sure to check EVERYTHING that I do. So thanks for that too.

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By: Anonymous http://genstuck.wbur.org/blog/cheyenne/896/#comment-90 Tue, 25 Sep 2012 18:52:00 +0000 http://genstuck.wbur.org/?p=896#comment-90 Theare? I don’t think that spells anything. It is missing a T.

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By: Cheyenne http://genstuck.wbur.org/blog/cheyenne/896/#comment-89 Tue, 25 Sep 2012 18:46:00 +0000 http://genstuck.wbur.org/?p=896#comment-89 Nevermind, the larger issue is that I am too nervous about having my picture taken to spell correctly. That is embarrassing.

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By: Cheyenne http://genstuck.wbur.org/blog/cheyenne/896/#comment-88 Tue, 25 Sep 2012 18:39:00 +0000 http://genstuck.wbur.org/?p=896#comment-88 That actually isn’t an error. Theatre is the art form, and theater is the building.

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By: Anonymous http://genstuck.wbur.org/blog/cheyenne/896/#comment-87 Tue, 25 Sep 2012 17:45:00 +0000 http://genstuck.wbur.org/?p=896#comment-87 Well hopefully there aren’t any errors in her resume or cover letter. That could be a bigger issue….

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