Kiese Laymon is visiting his grandmother at the hospital who recently suffered from a head injury. During his visit Kiese Laymon witnessed his grandmother screaming and begging for mercy while being treated by the doctor. As Laymon stood there he began to question the ethics of the situation and how preventable his grandmother’s suffering was. Kiese Laymon was convinced his grandmother didn’t receive proper medical care owing to the fact that she’s a black woman. He further noted the common misconception in which it’s believed black women have the ability to recover from these events. While simultaneously the individuals with this ideology “never really cared if black women recovered”(Page-169). Immediately after reading this part I asked myself if I would do anything different in comparison to Laymon. If that were my grandmother screaming, part of me would want to intervene and help her out. However I strongly believe my concerns would be completely ignored by the surgical team. In addition it was upsetting to hear how Laymon’s grandmother acted like everything was fine post surgery. And how thanking Jesus for getting through situations caused by individuals who had their best interest at heart, was his “family’s superpower” (Page 170).  

Image Citiataion- Beliaikin, Artem. “Man with Scotch Tape.” Flickr, Yahoo!, 19 Oct. 2019, https://www.flickr.com/photos/artembali/48925495472/in/photolist-2hxnXgo-AJHg7S-2igbKWR-ow9wxn-wPamGQ-ouXKiw-hTNeHj-wNVxhs-ouytVo-oyd7rP-wj13A6-r5NeSa-2m5ZLnf-wM9JFJ-xmacBB-rp1BB8-of1n4c-y5UeKR-tnSMcG-otpwK9-wMjzB2-wMoAAo-owhsZC-tAi87J-roHANt-wxiVts-wQfS5H-wMhKpH-osMrXq-w7KZ9S-tCYoQs-ow5rfX-owrmGt-qshTs2-ous7om-wYnNon-owhVN7-w9Nnvt-oeMRFM-owsJNu-oeZQbm-x3Qy3g-ov9mn9-xfPxke-ow2Cq9-2jBuvBs-odX5d9-ountKh-oeMYJC-ovNQq9. 

Kiese Laymon begins opening about his early college experience at Millsaps College. Initially like most first year college students the change of environment can be very overwhelming to adapt to. Laymon was feeling the overwhelming stress of early adulthood while simultaneously enjoying the benefits/freedom that comes with it. Laymon was part of a work-study program, enjoyed writing parts of essays, and eating pastries. Despite having the capability to be an intellect, Laymon was constantly reminded to prove his worth. For instance in his English class he was falsely accused of plagiarism for using the word “ambivalent”(Page-122). Laymons responded by bringing several unrelated books to all of his classes. In hopes of letting his white peers know that he “read more than they would” (Page-123). I believe the concept of proving your worth that Laymon brought up can be applied to all aspects of life. The unfortunate reality of perceiving yourself as a person who hasn’t done enough can motivate some to become better versions of themselves but it normally leads down a destructive path. This is portrayed when looking at Laymon’s fear of participating in his classrooms, results in him coping with cakes. I understand getting/asking for help isn’t easy but I really wished someone could have reached out to Laymon. 

Image Source- https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/pile-of-books-gm984414446-267136260

Kiese Laymon narrates his experience of becoming a new eighth grade student at St. Richard Catholic School in his hometown of Jackson, MS. The classrooms in his new school were filled predominantly with white students/teachers, unlike his old school. This change of environment brought many challenges and obstacles that affected Kiese Laymon and his former classmates. Initially I was expecting Kiese Laymon to write about the common difficulties any middle schooler would experience when transferring to a new school. This would include writing about how much the new school isn’t the same, making new friends, etc. Which is something Laymon wrote about to a certain extent at the beginning of “Meager”. Similarly I found the conversation/thoughts shared among Kiese Laymon and Ms.Stockard relating to Jabari very interesting. Ms.Stockard approached Laymon with a growing concern for his friend Jabari’s well being. Admitting that several students and teachers were “bothered with his odor and grossed out” (page-74) . Kiese and Lathon were both highly encouraged to speak with him regarding improving his personal hygiene. Kiese later elaborated that his friend has always “stank and how the death of his mother affected the scent in his home”(pg-75). Laymon took into consideration how much being accepted by his white peers meant to Jabari and decided to hide this from him. Laymon added if someone smelt bad it would normally be laughed about and controlled (pg-75). Ultimately demonstrating how ignorant individuals can be and gave perspective on how a concept as simple as bad hygiene can be perceived differently.

 https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/fresh-shower-behind-wet-glass-window-with-water-drops-splashing-gm917616066-252437715

Blog Post 1

Blog Post 1

Kiese Laymon begins by telling stories regarding his childhood experiences with his family members. Especially the ones with his mother with whom he shared a complicated relationship. As a direct result of him loving his mother unconditionally despite her continuously abusing him. One of Kiese Laymon’s initial quotes was “I did not want to write to you, I wanted to write a lie” in which he was referring to his mother. I was not expecting Kiese Laymon to start his memoir with such heartbreaking details regarding his relationship with his mother. I found it difficult to read some parts of the memoir without creating an image in my head. As I continued reading the memoir I began growing a significant level of appreciation towards Laymon for including this specific line. Reading this part of the memoir also made me reflect on the personal relationship I share with my own mother. Realizing how fortunate I am for sharing a healthy relationship with my mother till this present day. Moving forward with the memoir, I’m anticipating that Laymon includes more lines from his mothers perspective. For the duration of Kiese Laymon dissecting the unfortunate events of his adolescents. As of this moment Kiese Laymon has not disappointed.