Thursday, October 5, 2017
Miguel Morales
Writer and activist Miguel Morales attended class to speak to students about what inspires him to write, share some of his poetry, and discuss his experiences growing up as a child farm worker in Texas. I appreciate that Miguel will talk honestly about his perceptions and how his lived experiences, different from my own, impact how he views the world.
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I thought Miguel's presentation was really interesting and I learned a lot about the viewpoints and experiences of minorities in America. I thought I had a decent understanding of Mexican and gay people prior to this presentation, but now having listened to Miguel I can better understand and appreciate the reality of minorities in this country.
ReplyDeleteI found his poetry and experiences about his childhood and migrant farming really interesting and eye opening. Before, I did not really know anything about migrant farming or the unfair and unsafe conditions of it. I was surprised by his story and saddened by the reality of it. I was really touched by how he told it as well. It was obvious that the experience deeply affected him and shaped who he is.
I also really liked his poem about Donald Trump being elected. To me, it really embodied his feelings, and I think the feelings of people similar to him. It was raw and true, and refreshing to hear unconstrained emotions and thoughts.
His poem about his body and appearance was also really refreshing to me. I could tell it had taken him a while to reach this point where he could be comfortable in his body, and even be proud and confident. It made me feel better knowing that you may not always love your body, but it truly does not matter what other people think of it or say about it.
Overall, Miguel's presentation helped my better understand the reality for Mexican people in the US, for gay people, for fat people, and so on. It helped me realize that everyone has their own complex histories and experiences, and those are shaped by the characteristics you are born with.
Addy Y
Miguel’s poetry was very eye opening for me but there were a lot of things that I was confused about. It may be because poetry to me is very confusing or that I wasn’t seeing the way he views different things. One thing that I was very confused about was when he was introducing the writer of the poem about a woman working in a gas station and someone putting a gun to her head. I distinctly remember him introducing her as a “lesbian woman” and I didn’t understand his purpose of that. From what I understood from the poem, her being lesbian had nothing to do with her piece of writing.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that I found very confusing was him comparing Trump supporters to the harmful events that have been happening in our country. Truthfully, I am not very educated on politics but I do know that Hillary was for gun control. If Hillary was our president and made new gun laws that helped prevent events like these from happening, but they still happened, who would we blame then? Hillary supporters?
All in all, I have a lot of respect for people that take their emotions and form them into poems. I think this is a very healthy way of letting loose of everything that has built up. I do have a lot of respect for Miguel. He seems like he has been through a lot through his unfair childhood and even now with his body imaging issues.
Madi C
Being a Mexican minority myself, I can relate to SOME of Miguel’s personal experiences. My family was not migrant farmers, nor did I personally know anyone in those in those settings. However, I do remember my mom telling me stories about my grandma having to work several jobs most of the time to take care of all her children. She would tell me that as a single mom, she made sure that all 10 kids (yes, TEN!) had what they needed when they were growing up even if it meant working a day job, coming home to fix dinner, take a nap and then go back to work and then come home to fix breakfast, then nap again, just to do it all again the next day. Oh, and those “names” that aren’t really names, they really do exist in the Latino culture. We have a Chops, WeeWee, and Chinney…don’t ask me why those names, have not a clue! I also can relate to the mixed family scenario that he gave…my sister and I are both half Mexican, but she has porcelain skin compared to me.
ReplyDeleteI really feel like he is doing good encouraging students to strive to be there best whether It’s through his poetry or in person. I may not necessarily be the first college student in my family, but I have come to use my life experiences to push myself even more just like he tells his students. My story is still growing and molding me into the person I want to be and using that, is to my advantage. My story is what got me into going back to school into radiology. My story is what will help me relate to my future patients and their families and become “real” to them and not just some “Jane Doe” Rad Tech that is taking x-rays or ultrasounds.
Miguel was a fun guest speaker with an interesting background. I was impressed with the long list of awards he has won! His first poem he shared with us, “Madre de los Campos,” was his story about what his childhood and early adolescence was like. I just can’t believe how that would make me feel to live that kind of life when I was younger and I didn’t know that migrant farm working children are still common today. The poem I related to the most was about being the first college student in the family. It is called “First” and I was having a really stressful week with all the problems he explained in that poem. I tried to find it online because I wanted to print it out and put it by my desk in my room because that poem made me feel so much better, but I couldn’t find it. He also gave some tips on things he did in college that made me have an aha moment. I thought it was interesting that the women were harder workers than the men in the field and when they wanted to be done they would go sit in the car and wait for the women to get done since they all rode in the same car. His mother would let them drink all of their water and give them their money. When I think of this subject I think that of the men that do the work, but his story really opened my eyes. The one thing that was confusing to me was the poem about Donald Trump. How do you compare people that voted for him to people (mass murderers) who killed so many innocent people?!
ReplyDeletePaige James
I thought Mr.Morales did a great job describing his life and relating it to us in a funny and sincere way. I think it takes a brave person to stand up in front of strangers and speak about one's own insecurities in such an open and honest manner. When he spoke of being a migrant worker as a child it helped me understand better the life that many Latinos lead. I liked how he was honest about how his mom made him mad, but he still respected her and showed that by working hard and doing his part. It is an important lesson that we all lose sight of when life comes at us hard.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking about one's sexual orientation and body weight seems intimidating to me, but he was very clear and confident in his views. His poetry was very interesting and I liked how he related it to a specific experience. When he spoke about his sisters and mom and his feelings on women in general, I felt very proud to be a woman and a mom myself. It is true we as women we wear many hats at one time, and I thought it was awesome that he recognized how his mother and sisters were the strongest, hardest workers he had ever known.
I appreciate the fact Mr. Morales came to speak to our class. It was very motivating and informative. I wish him the best of luck in the future with his writings.
Mr. Morales did a great job presenting to our class on Tuesday. I really appreciate and respect his courage to speak in front of us and explain his story of growing up. It is easy to see his passion and love for writing. I was very impressed with the amount of poems he has written and the ability he has to express his feelings throughout his writing. I was very interested in his story because his upbringing is not something that we usually go through. His stories were scary and intriguing at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate his honesty and especially his view of how hard women work. It isn't often that men recognize the hard work of women, so I thought that was notable. I would be interested to hear more of his poems and any future writing he has. I really was motivated and appreciative of his work and wish him the best for his future projects.
I enjoyed listening to Miguel Morales talk about his life as a migrant farm worker and other aspects of his life growing up. When he talked about the farm work he did as a child it made me very sad for him and his relatives. The fact that they had to endure the heat and chemicals and terrible people that could hurt them every day for years, just made me sick. He opened my eyes to things that I had never thought or knew about.
ReplyDeleteI, also, really enjoyed how he spoke about the women in his life. He realized at a young age that women were the hard workers and the ones that should be looked up to and respected. When he was talking about his mother in the back of my head I was thinking how wonderful it would be if my sons thought that way about me. I hope that they too realize the sacrifices made and the unconditional love that is always there. One can hope!
There wasn't one poem that Mr. Morales read that did not speak to me. I understood and was touched by each and all his writings. This is unusual for me because, unfortunately, I often have a hard time understanding or interrupting poems. I was impressed at all of the awards he has received and the writers groups that he is involved in. Overall, I enjoyed Miguel Morales more than any speaker I have had in any of my classes. He was genuine, courageous, and so honest about things that people don’t generally want to talk about. Thank You!
Jennifer Fahey-Winkelbauer
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to what Miguel had to say to us because being a minority myself, it’s interesting to hear about the lives of other minority groups and what some of them have to go through. Listening to him talk about his experience as a child working on a farm with immigrant parents opened my eyes to some of the issues some other minorities, especially immigrants have to deal with and overcome. I thought I knew a lot about what immigrant families had to go through, but listening to him astonished me and almost brought me to tears. Hearing about his sister being sexually assaulted, and the pesticides being sprayed on them, along with the white men taking their water and money, just showed me how cruel this country can really be to people who weren’t born here and are trying to integrate themselves.
ReplyDeleteAnd that brings me to the next thing I loved which was all the poems he read because they were so heart felt and unapologetic. My favorite however, was the Trump poem because it did highlight his raw feelings immediately following the election and I believe that I how most minorities felt after the election; at least that is how I felt. The poem resonated with me because a lot of the people I know and considered a friend ended up voting for him and it confused me as to why they would vote for someone who was openly disrespectful to minorities, when they have friends who are minorities. When he said he maybe shouldn’t have read that poem after the fact, I understood why he would say that, but I didn’t mind because it just an expression of him and his real feelings, and I think he is entitled to let that be known.
I did love his overall presentation, especially when he talked about accepting himself as fat and gay, and when he talked about how his niece uses her privilege to bring the hammer down on discrimination. I feel like his childhood shaped him to be activist he is today, and taught him how to see the little bit of good when it seems like everything is horrible.
I learned a lot from our guest speaker, Mr. Morales. I honestly have not heard of a migrant farm worker, so I was interested to learn more. I didn’t expect that it would be so harsh and that kids were hired for this job. I liked how Mr. Morales was able to use that energy and write poems about his experience. It makes you feel what those farmers were going through. The stories showed the audience the struggles of working as a migrant farmer. I feel like we could take that message that you can write about your struggles and inspire new people. I mean it might not be the most positive story ever but at least you will be able to reach some people. Mr. Morales was talking about this when it came to his poem about being a migrant farm worker. I know I always use drawing or video games as coping mechanism for bad experiences. Usually when I draw, I feel motivated to finish the drawing. I can feel my emotions pouring out of me when i’m working on a new drawing. Overall, I learned that you can take any experience and make something out of it. You can inspire others just by having similar experiences.
ReplyDeleteI found Miguel Morales' story very interesting. Prior to his speaking in our class, I was unaware of how harsh the work conditions could be for migrant farmers. I was stunned to hear how they were treated by their superiors, and enjoyed hearing how he admired the women who raised him for both their physical and emotional strength. The poem I related to most was "First", which described some of the lessons he learned in college. Although I do admire Miguel for his ability to put his emotions into words through poetry, I do not completely agree with everything he said and found some of it too extreme (how is President Trump or those who voted for him responsible for the murder of innocent people?). Despite this, it was interesting to hear from the perspective of someone who is of a very different demographic than I am. I also feel that it was very courageous of Miguel to write a poem about the stigmas placed on people considered "fat". That has to be a very hard thing to stand in front of an audience and read about.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I found Miguel's presentation to be very thought provoking. I think venting your emotions through writing is a good way to deal with stress, and applaud him for the ability to do so. I am sure those who relate to his viewpoints and experiences find it a relief to hear they are not alone.
Jessi Bradley
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed listening to Miguel Morales speak. My brother is a farmer and the conditions that Miguel described are not at all how things are where my brother works, so it was interesting and also eye-opening to hear about the other types of farms that are out there. I am glad that he was able to be honest and share the story of what his family had to go through. Although I believe that some of the things he said about Trump voters were a little harsh and unfair, I understand his meaning behind it, and it was very interesting to hear his point of view. My favorite part by far was when he touched on his sexuality and body weight. His poems on these topics were humorous and I loved to see that he was able to be so confident about topics that can be very embarrassing and intimidating to talk about.
ReplyDeleteMiguel Morales did a great job with the presentation regarding his poems. I found it very interesting regarded his background and the long list of awards he has won over the years. It was very eye opening that his first poem was about how he was a migrant farmer and how he had such a hard childhood and was describing some of the things he had to encounter with on a day to day bases. But yet he is here with a laundry list of awards he has won and how successful he is knowing his past. That is the true definition of the American Dream. A point that really stood out to me during the whole presentation was when he was speaking about the women in his life. He was describing the working conditions his family and himself had to do in order to make money and survive, and how his sister was just as hard of workers as the men in the field. He brought up a story where they would have other women come and work in the field but could not compare to what his sister did. It is amazing how much he respects women not only in his family but yet other women in the world.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I found his presentation to be very inspiring regarding his work for poetry and how when he is having a rough day and wants to vent he does it through writing ultimately writing poetry. It is a good way to deal with stress and maybe that’s what we all should start doing rather than writing a post on Facebook and causing more attention than you intended to do.
Mary Morgan Nanney
I found Miguel Morales a very interesting man. You can see the passion that he has about his writings. When he read the poem "First" I related to it very much. I am the first person in my family to go to college because my parents are foreigners. But the most striking thing that caught my attention was his stories about working in the fields. You can tell that it was a tough subject fro him to present because you can hear the emotions in his voice and face about it. He stated some interesting facts that I was unaware of. For instance, when working in the fields you must wear long clothes to keep bugs and things fro attaching to your skin. Another thing that caught my attention was when he stated that his small poem is being turned into a short film. Another poem that I found interesting was "This Poem Isn't" and with this it talks about different issues that aren't going to be changed based on just a poem and that we have to make that change we will have to make that change ourselves. A statement that he made that caught my attention was if you took all the things that you write or post on social media and combine them together, you can create a paragraph or even a poem.
ReplyDeleteMiguel Morales was very interesting and brought many things into perspective. He read us a poem that he wrote titled "First". I was very impressed by this poem and connected to it very well. My sister and I are both first generation college students. Many of what he was saying in the poem I could relate to. Even though my sister is older I still experience many first because I am a college athlete along with a college student. This was a well written poem. He also wrote a poem that was about Trump and the election. I feel as if this poem was wrong and rude. I believe that no human should be compared to a mass murderer that kill innocent individuals. Making the claims he made were wrong in my eves. I believed he had great intent on speaking to our class but as he lost the respect I had given him with his other writings. I am also confused on the type of person he wants to be portrayed as.
ReplyDeleteWith all of that being said I respect him for being able to speak and share what he believe without caring what others think or how they look at him.
-Kelsei Davis
I thought that Miguel Morales was an interesting speaker. I liked how he said that when writing poems he tries to connect to the audience, and allow the reader to be in his shoes. He talked a lot about his life as a child, growing up as a farm worker. I found this very interesting because I have never met anyone who worked as he did, so I had no idea that some of the things he experienced happened. I never knew that they must wear long sleeves and pants, or that the crop sprayers would just spray over them, not caring about the effect it would have on the people. He also wrote many poems relating to his farm work. The first poem he read was about his mom and farm work. I thought it was really interesting when he said that social media is literature and can help you write a short story or essay because I have never thought about it in that way. I did not agree with or like the poem about Trump at all. I do not think it is fair to compare someone who voted for Trump to a mass murderer. With that being said, I think that he has a lot of confidence and writes about what he believes in, which is good. The statement he made about women being better workers, organizers, and brave I loved because I don't think most men would ever make a statement like that. Overall, I think his writings and his story were interesting.
ReplyDeleteI thought Miguel was a really interesting person to listen to. I like how he writes his poems so his readers can understand what he is talking about and how his readers can be in his shoes when they read his work. Another thing that I liked about Miguel was he could be serious when he was reading his poems, and then he could then be confident about his weight and sexuality. His first poem was eye opening when he was talking about his childhood and what he had to do when he was younger. It was very surprising to hear that young children had to wear long sleeves and long pants out in the hot temperature and getting sprayed by the crop duster while doing farm work, and then sometimes they wouldn't get paid. Another poem I enjoyed hearing was the poem called "First" because it was relatable to me since I am in college and it talked about him being in college. The one poem that he read that I was not a fan of was the poem about Trump and how if you voted for him then you are the same as the people that are mass murderers and I do no think there is any comparison there. Overall, I really did enjoy listening to him speak.
ReplyDeleteThis was a significantly different guest lecture from our last one and I was very happy that Miguel Morales talked a bit more about gender and biology sex than Jennifer Green did. While that part of the lecture was quite limited, he still brought up some interesting points. His comments about the women that worked on the farms with were particularly intriguing. Notably, I was interested in the contrast between women primarily working outside of farms in order to essentially marry up and how he described the women on the farms as being significantly more resilient and hardworking than the men. This is a common view however. Women are seen as fundamentally “superior” and yet this idea is undermined through a forced dependency on men all while women continue to do the bulk of the work with the addition of the housework and child care. I wish that we could have learn more about the women that Miguel Morales worked with, but sadly, he became emotional. Being emotional is not a bad thing entirely because it shows his connection to the subject matter. I just felt concerned that he might become more emotional if I tried to inquiry more.
ReplyDeleteMiguel Morales’ speech was very touching, informative and fun. I enjoyed when he read his poems. My favorite one was the one about Donald Trump. He also compared Trump supporters to something really bad. I don’t remember what but I remember being super surprised by that, I remember kinda liking it but at the same time being like “dang, chill!”
ReplyDeleteAll his stories and poems about when was a farm worker were very surprising to me. I have never really thought about what life would be like for a farmer. It was very sad when he talked about how the pesticide sprinklers would come by and he would have to duck down and hide, hold his breath and hope his skin didn’t start to burn. The part about his mom and his sister have their conversation about whether his sister had been harassed by a man they lived with and that his sister lied and told her mom “no”. It’s really sad that his mom had to stay so strong, knowing that they lived with a man that was doing horrible things.
My favorite part of his presentation was when he talked about how strong women are. Women are a different, special kind of strong. And he did a great job explaining why that is so.
The very first poem he read really connected to me. Through out my own life my mom always protected my brother and I from the real struggles in our life and when we got older she started to show us more and more because we started to take the sides of the things she was protecting us from. She, just like Miguels mom, always got the short end of the stick and got blamed for things even though she was just doing her best.Also the lady who worked at the 7-eleven has an amazing story. I heard that story and it was empowering to me i felt like she took control of her own life and decided her own destiny. It was so empowering that it scared the robber. Mr. Morales' poem "First" really was something great. Our success is something our parents pride us on. We have to appreciate the opportunity even though it sucks to have so much pressure on us. But its just because our parents want us to be great. I also really loved his poem "Domestic" it spoke so much to me because its the truth. We elect those people to power that promote evil. If we want change we have to pay attention. The most touching thing to me though was all the stories about his migrant life. The story he talked about his female relatives working all day but men who couldn't even make it to lunch is really such a testimony. Something that did slightly bother me though is the story he told talking about his mother asking his sister, "did he get you" is so troubling. I know my mom always told me and acted like its a mothers job to protect her children at all cost. And for his mother to try and provide a life as best as she could and still not be able to protect her kids is terrible. Everything he spoke about was so personal and really made and great connection.
ReplyDeleteI thought Miguel Morales was a very inspiring gentleman that really caught my attention. I loved his openness and honesty and how he wasn't afraid to speak whatever was on his mind. He interacted with the audience so well and also asked for permission to speak on some topics, which were in regarding to President Trump, which I thought was very respectable for him to ask us before hand.
ReplyDeleteAs he was reading several of his poems on that day, I was amazed how I could actually understand them and what he was trying to say. Most poems are so difficult to understand, but the way he writes them gives them a more clearer understanding. There was a poem that really stood out to me about his Mom and sisters. I love how he expressed how great women are and how they have hard work ethic. This was kind of emotional to me, since I can totally relate to how he feels about his Mom! My Mom was the hardest worker and she would do anything for anyone. She always put herself first before others and would never hardly spend a dime on herself!
I love listening to speakers who really speak what they feel and experience. It was a joy to listen to him!
Ana Saint
I enjoyed listening to Miguel Morals. It was nice to hear his background story and all the hardships that he went through.I enjoyed listening to his story of working in the fields. He said they would cover their faces so the crop dusters chemicals do not get breathed in and to think he started in the fields when he was eight and then he said he got paid about 25 cents per hour and the money did not even go to him it went to his mom and his mom gave it to her boyfriend. Miguel did not like his mom's boyfriend because he was very lazy and mean to his mom. I liked how his poems were based off of his experience and you were able to relate them. I liked the stories that Miguel told about his mom and his sisters because I was able to relate to them from my sisters and mom. Miguel is very inspiring because he has been bullied for being gay he has been abused by his mom's boyfriend. His poems show you struggles that Latino people actually go through and the struggles that they face. It was a good perspective to be in I enjoyed listening to him.
ReplyDelete-Katie Emmer