Luckily, if you like themes, the writing that ended up coming out of this prompt revolves around consumerism vs. the holidays - how appropriate with the Winter Holidays just around the corner.
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| ... sipping his Starbucks slowly. |
So, here is my prompt and the results:
Prompt: Pick 5 key words from a freewriting entry that pertains to the theme of misunderstanding. Then create
either a poem (16-20 lines), (non)fictional story (1-2 pages), or
representational item (painting, short drama - 1 minute or less, photo etc.)
based on the emotions evoked in the freewrite and includes the 5 chosen words.
Example: Key words from freewrite: embarrassing, radical, angry,
culture, flaws
I asked him:
I asked him:
How could you not think your birthday is important?
It's just another day full of false well wishes
By radical enthusiasts of
cake and candy.
I couldn't help but get angry
because
of his nonchalant accusations that all
I wanted was cake. He points out the
materialistic culture of
holidays and
states that my enthusiasm is embarrassing.
Meanwhile, he sips on his Starbucks latte,
Perpetuating the poverty of a people
Miles away from home.
I guess it's out of sight out of mind for him.
And I continue to be sucked into the flaw
that is the celebration of making it this far
in the time frame we call life and he sits
alone sipping his Starbucks slowly.
Your freewrite could be anything: it doesn't necessarily have to be theme based. For me, it was theme based because I had based it off of an article I had read just prior to creating the prompt about cultural misunderstandings.This writing prompt could be used just for fun, or (if you are a teacher) to check your students' comprehension of vocabulary or course themes/content.
I hope you enjoyed this article, or at least the little poem. I am so excited for the holidays! Down with scrooge!
But, hey, it's not about my opinion... what's yours? Do you think the Winter Holidays, birthdays, or other holidays are strictly kept around for consumer/business purposes? What do your families do for holidays or special occasions? Leave a comment!
Best Wishes,
Ashley
I think that most people nowadays feel like the Holidays are all about consumerism, and why not? Everywhere we look we're bombarded by sales, Christmas advertising and "Black Friday" is even migrating to Canada now. But this time of year shouldn't be about that, though it is hard in today's society to ignore consumerism. I think you still have to make Christmas (or whatever holiday you celebrate) about family, friends, giving, and togetherness, no matter how many gifts you do (or do not) give or receive :)
ReplyDeleteYeah - I had no idea that Black Friday was coming to Canada until the day before. I think it is kind of unfortunate because those types of sales do tend to draw attention to the material aspect of the winter holidays instead of the fact that you are given time off from work and school to spend time with the people you love, that you probably wouldn't get to see without the large winter break. What about other holidays though, like Valentine's, Family Day, Victoria Day, Birthdays, Halloween?
ReplyDeleteIt is easy to get lost in the consumerism aspect of it all (especially if you’re a pessimist like me who sees the generations deteriorating before my eyes). However, I was brought up on a whole different realm of values. I have always been taught that the holidays were for the purpose of family. It was a time to connect and catch up with the ones you love so dearly but had gone off on adventures in life of their own. They weren't able to maintain the consistent communication but always knew there was a place to call home.
ReplyDeleteTo do this day (I am 24) I still dye Easter eggs, carve pumpkins, and start a paper ball fight with the remaining shreds of gift wrap. I am present at all special occasions (birthday's, turkey dinners, etc.) and still make time in my busy schedule (I’m a student attending full time) to lend the hand that is needed to pull all of this off. It doesn’t matter if it is me with my younger sisters, or just me and my grandma, I am still there.
I am there because I was fortunate enough too brought up on the true family values. Yes many people think it is ridiculous that at my age I still dye egg’s with my grandma BUT the look of sheer joy on her face knowing that she has sustained that little bit of innocence in my life is enough for me (this happens with ALL holidays). This has inspired me to keep the traditions and my greatest satisfaction is seeing the look on my either one of my sister’s faces when we are gutting out pumpkins, decorating a tree, and blowing yolks out of an egg. They may hate to admit it but the genuineness of their joy of such a simpler time (we are all in our twenties) just radiates on their face. These are the things I will pass on to my own children.
To make a long story short, holidays are not about the holiday’s themselves. It boils down to the values and beliefs that have been instilled in you and how you have chosen to perceive them over your lifetime. They have NEVER been about consumerism for me and I am truly grateful to be surrounded by a family who thinks, feels, and acts the same way that I do.
Consumerism vs. the Holidays:
ReplyDeleteNowadays I would have to say that consumerism has taken hold of the holidays and there is little chance of it letting go. I look back to my life as a young child when Christmas started around the first or second week of December. The winter chill in the air and kids were getting excited as school became closer to letting out for those magical few weeks. It wasn't so much about getting a ton of presents and worrying about bills and how are we going to pay for Christmas this year, as it seems that is what it has come to these days. It was about going out and picking out a tree in the woods and cutting down that tree that you didn't have to pay $50.00 to $100.00 for, or having to go and get a permit just to cut one down. Nowadays you can't even do that in most places, you are forced to buy a tree or worse yet pay for a plastic one and pay you will at prices starting around $100.00 for a cheap tree going up to $1000.00 or more. Tree lots used to allow you to cut your own tree for about $5.00 to $10.00 if you wanted to go that route. Good luck finding anything remotely close to that price now.
Christmas was about family and decorations, snowmen and snowball fights, putting the lights up outside the house and SANTA! I couldn't wait for Christmas day, it couldn't come soon enough. I used to try and stay awake at night just to catch a glimpse of Santa, but I could never stay awake long enough, even with my head spinning out of control with excitement. Back then of course there wasn't a lot of money in most homes to buy what goes under the trees today. I see peoples trees nowadays that you can't even see the bottom half of it due to the amount of gifts that are under it. I remember half of my gifts or more were handmade gifts, woolen hats, scarves, socks, carved dolls, crafted items such as toy boats planes cars etc. Even the teddy bears that were hand made were the best gifts. You try giving a child even 5 years of age a gift such as that nowadays and they would probably ask you how to turn it on.
It seems that Christmas has become one large commercialized money grab. Every holiday seems to collide with the next, the stores can’t seem to start the next holiday soon enough. As soon as Halloween is over Christmas starts, then Valentines Day, then Easter. The stores shelves are stripped of one holiday when it ends and filled with another. Then there are the sales from the previous holiday. That plastic tree you just spent $300.00 is now $50.00 on sale, that very same tree that will out live you, your children and your children’s children and probably in a land fill after 2 or 3 years because that is how long they usually last until you have to throw out the broken old tree.
TO BE CONT.
Continued from above:
ReplyDeleteThat brings me to another Consumer problem that is ever growing, all the plastic. Plastic that your gifts come in prior to buying them, then into a plastic bag after purchasing it with your plastic card and take it home and then wrapped and topped off with plastic bows and bells that could be reused but never are. Most of this plastic will end up in the trash. I miss the days when you bought things in cardboard boxes without the plastic window to see the toy or item and put your newly bought item into a box or paper bag or paper wrap. Trees are a renewable resource and if managed correctly will last us forever, but instead we use plastic.
I don’t much look forward to holidays anymore; Consumerism has taken over and squashed the life out of that magically feeling I used to get from the simpler things that the holidays brought with them. Families getting together and enjoying time with one another, Waking up to a few gifts under the tree and maybe getting that special doll or football you asked Santa for. Dressing up for dinner and the holiday get together. It seems that everyone is too stressed out nowadays to enjoy the little things that they forgot each holiday brought. All I see now is commercialized dates on the calendar that I need to try and get through. How I long to go back in time and take my kids to show them a real Christmas/Easter/Valentines/Halloween/New Years, Or should I say Happy Holidays to be politically correct. That is another issue all on its own.
Try to take yourself back this year and show your kids what Christmas is really about. Take food to a shelter for the homeless; show them what the gift of giving is about. Merry Christmas everyone, Peace and good will to all.
Robert C. Slade
Delightful, thoughtful and well written .. I see from where Ashley gets he writing ability ♥
DeleteWhile I do agree that the holidays have become about consumerism I do not think that is all they are about to many people. While at first kids wake up on Christmas and they open their presents, many kids forget about those gifts once the start to spend time with their families. As everyone gets older I think that they come to realize that it is not about the gifts or money that you are given but about using the rest of the day to be with the people that you love. I am guilty of buying to many presents but I also do not tell people that I am buying for them because I do not expect anything in return and it loses its value knowing that it was only bought because they thought that they had to rather than because they saw something and immediately thought that I would love it. I think even if all I am getting is a screen shot of a pinterest picture and they say I saw this and thought of you I would have an equally great holiday than if they bought be a gift.
ReplyDeleteI think holidays/birthdays/specials occasions/etc are whatever you and your family make them. I'm from the US and work part time at Starbucks in a Target store. Trust me when I say that I see consumerism every time I step in the store to go to work. I hate it. In my opinion, Black Friday is one of the worst things to come out of Corporate America. It's existence only helps perpetuate the idea of consumerism and taking these birthdays, special occasions, and especially holidays and trying to turn them into something they're not in the name of profit and money and bigger bonuses and salary increases for the top executives of the company.
ReplyDeleteAnd, while I agree with a majority of what Robert says above, I must point out one major point with which I disagree. "How I long to go back in time and take my kids to show them a real Christmas/Easter/Valentines/Halloween/New Years.." I'm not at the point in my life yet in which I'm having children and I don't plan to be for quite a few years but when I'm finally at that point, I don't plan on having to take my children back in time to show them a "real" holiday. These things are all about how you teach and raise your children. My children will think of the Holidays in the same way Melissa has explained above. It's how I was raised too. I was raised that Christmas was about the birth of Christ and remembering that even some of the greatest people come from humble beginnings.. We went to church every Christmas Eve and then headed over the Grandma's to spend the rest of the night with family. We played games, talked with one another, ran around and burned off all of the endless energy young kids seem to have. Sure, we had presents to open and gorged ourselves on food and candy but it wasn't about that. The presents were never anything extravagant and they certainly weren't expected or required for us to have a good time with our family.
The holidays, birthdays, special occasions, and whatever else there may be have nothing to do with consumerism taking over and everything to do with what you and your family do with them. If it's all about the presents for you and your family, that's no one's issue but you and your family's. But we shouldn't have to feel like we have to go back in time to show future generations "how it should be." We should show them and teach them every year that it's about love and time spent with family. And when it's finally my time to have kids, they'll learn the same thing. Christmas (or any holiday for that matter) isn't about the presents and candy. It's about your family, spending time with your loved ones, making jokes, playing games, appreciating one another, and just having a good time enjoying one another's company. There's a reason Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. My entire family from both my Mom and Dad's sides, gather at my parents house for an amazing lunch and dinner. No expectations other than a great meal and time with one another. No presents. Just quality family time.
It's hard to say that any of the current holidays are kept around 'strictly for consumer/business purposes' - it cannot be answered as an absolute. I do think they play a large role and that businesses take advantage of that. Black Friday for example - which utterly disgusts me. People dying because of crazed shoppers, and if someone argued back "But the deals are so good!" I'd slap them. Black Friday is the perfect example of people who are too focused on the shopping and not the holiday itself. Gifts are nice, but not a necessity. (Black Friday is NOT EVEN a holiday - its a twisted tradition that follows thanksgiving, ironically).
ReplyDeleteThen again, things like Family Day or Victoria Day - I cannot think of anything to buy for those holidays (maybe a nice Family Day Hallmark card? Haha).
So far as the consumer aspect, indeed religious holidays generate the primary source of retail and online business. Global economies are structured to be advantageous opportunists with little regard for the environment while consumerism feeds the beast.
ReplyDeleteCultures globally take their cue from the need to compete, develop and apparently consume whatever they can.
Corporate giants.big box stores and online shopping have replaced character shoppes with personal customer service.
Hand written snail mail greeting card have been replaced by online card or text message.
Starbucks has replaces home brewed mugs around the kitchen table.
Are we embarrassed by our declining social interaction or that our culture is killing the planet due to our consumer addictions while half the kids in the world go to sleep hungry, without clean water or shoes or schools to wear them to. Our collective saddest flaw may be the imbalance created by radical greed.