"Response to Mazer"

I found this article a bit controversial especially as it personally relates to my own religious beliefs.  I found myself going back and forth trying to come up with an opinion about how I truly feel and I could not come up with a clear answer... I'll explain--


I grew up going to church every Sunday and Wednesday as my Dad was a Deacon at our Bible Baptist Church in Neville Island.  I dreaded going at times, but looking back, I wouldn't do it any different.  In the future, I want my children to go to church the way my parents made me.  Sure, at the time it may seem awful and never-ending, but the lessons are well worth the time spent in Sunday school, etc.  I'm clearly no saint, and my decisions in high school and college will reflect that statement, but no matter what decision I make, the morals I learned at a young age creep up on me and sway my choices.  It is always in the back of my mind, "WWJD" and/or what would my parents think about my choices.


I do not think putting on a show necessarily translates into knowledge about something.  I was exposed to religion at a young age because someone reached out to my parents when they were younger.  I think the spectacle of bending iron and breaking through handcuffs makes people curious, but not curious about religion.  To me, making people buy tickets to be exposed to the gospel is just not sitting right with me.  We are all children of God and it is important to me to still live with religious values and I think it is just a matter of spreading the word to others.  

"Response to Sedaris"

This article was very interesting to read for me--I liked how it followed the boy's "plague of tics" from 3rd grade all the way to college.  I was able to connect to him in some ways for the way I interpreted his "tics" was a form of OCD, something I have but in a more mild sense.  When I was little, I had a more severe case of OCD and it seemed to come and go, mainly when my Dad would leave town  He is a pilot and when he would go on trips, I felt I needed to repeatedly do things in numbers in order to feel safe.  For example, I had to lock every door in our house more than 5 times each after opening and closing the door multiple times.  Much like the boy in the story, I thought these acts were normal because if I didn't' do them, it would just stick in my mind and I felt like something bad was bound to happen.  In school, I was much less obvious about my OCD, I just needed my notes to be mistake free and handwritten to perfection like a computer had typed them.  If not, I did not think I would be able to learn anything and had to re-write them until it was perfect.  


When it comes to walking, I still have a little OCD about it--why?  I could not tell you, it is probably out of habit.  When I read the first part of the article talking about how the boy knew the exact count of steps in his walk home from school and if he lost track, he turned around and started over again.  Again, in a much milder case, I could still somehow connect to him, understanding the way you just keep thinking about something over and over again until what you're doing "feels right" with you.  For me, if I step on a sidewalk crack with my right foot, the next crack I have to step on with my left foot and I will do a stutter step or a little hop to make sure I step on it.


One thing that I found a bit disheartening in the article was the lack of attention the boy's parents gave to his struggles.  Teacher after teacher had something to say about the boy's habits, yet his mother did not really do anything except mimic his behaviors for a laugh.  His dad on the other hand, used threats to try and get him to stop his habits.  I think when a case of OCD is that bad, there is something much deeper going on with that person that what you see on the surface.  My mother always questioned the behaviors she saw and I played it off like nothing was wrong but she knew something was wrong and wanted to help.  I felt bad for the boy as he struggled for a long time with these habits taking over his life.  


I wish the article had a little more closure to explain more about what happened to the boy in college.  I want to know how his habits either died down or got worse, instead the article just ended.  Overall, it was interesting to read and connect to the different behaviors that come with what I believe is OCD.