The Beginning of Something Brilliant
The Glasscock Summer Scholars programs is a project that falls in the realm of the humanities. Specifically, my project deals with social psychology. So in the summer, after attending a two week seminar on marginalized groups and individuals, it was time to decide what my topic would be on. On that day, I met Gabe Miller, a sociology grad student, who signed up to help me along with my advisor, Dr. Adrienne Carter-Sowell. So we brainstormed a bunch of ideas and started narrowing down topics.
We settled on seeing if social media sites can be used as a coping mechanism for African Americans who are racially discriminated against in order to protect their mental health. The process of coming to this topic was great! It was the first time that I really put what I had learned in that two week seminar to practical use which was exciting since social psychology is not my area of expertise. In that moment I knew that we had found something special. Several months later, we are now nearing the end of this thesis journey and it all started with that brainstorming session.
The source comes from an honorary thesis that I have been working on through the Glasscock Summer Scholars program at Texas A&M. This program gives students the opportunity to create an honorary thesis and gain research experience as undergrads.
Summer 2019
Lincoln El-Amin, English major at Texas A&M University
beginning-something-brilliant
Here I Am
This might be a total Millennial generation kind of humanities moment, so readers be warned. One day, I was scrolling through social media when I came across a post from a wonderful calligraphy artist. It read, "and here you are living despite it all." The post reminded me of the many times in my life when I was so hurt and so devastated over something that had occurred that sometimes I didn't feel like I would survive them. There were arguments with my mom, break ups, and bad grades, and they all took their toll. So when I casually came across that post, I took a moment and realized just how far I had come and just how much I have accomplished despite those seemingly possible to overcome parts of my life. It was one of the few times I was genuinely proud of myself, my strength. Something as simple as scrolling through social media became my "aha!" moment that made me realize I'm stronger than I give myself credit for. I should be proud of who I've become, and I need to stop being so hard on myself. Something so simple became my humanities moment.
A social media post from a calligraphy artist
January 2018
Sydney, 21, student
here-i-am