— Oasis Discussion Group — Ruth Tyler Vine Library - 8041 Wood St, Midvale, UT 84047
Note the library location changes! This month we'll be in the large main meeting room at the Tyler Library.
Salt Lake Oasis discussion group is like a book club, but focused on short content - such as podcasts, TED Talks, or online articles.
Topic: What is a song that has influenced you to change or has supported changes you have made?
Below are some resources for exploring this topic. Feel free to add ones you find and like in the comments of this event or join our Oasis Network Discord & the Salt Lake City chapter channels to share (Discord Invite). Also, you're welcome to join even if you don't listen to any of the materials, we always have great conversations with diverse opinions!
Discussion materials: EXAMPLE
I was born into a rigid cultural majority in which every behavior was scrutinized as either good or bad. Bad behavior, even if it wasn’t harmful behavior, was rejected as evil, and most of the time, these bad-behaving people were judged, ridiculed, and shunned.
While this was applied on a religious scale, it was even practiced on the playground scale. I was short. I had poofy hair. I wore glasses. I told dad jokes from a young age. And I didn’t understand why the other kids only recognized the parts of me that were different and scorned me for it.
Even knowing how bad it felt to be rejected, I still found ways to pass it on, as if finding ways to make others appear small would make me feel bigger, or better. And to be accepted by the “group,” I often found myself disguising my true self. But all I really wanted was to be accepted for me. I wanted people to see the real me.
That’s all anyone wants from someone else: acceptance. Love.
Lady Gaga’s song “Born This Way” helped me understand this. It still helps me understand this. Some of her lyrics are:
“Don't be a drag, just be a queen, whether you're broke or evergreen. You're black, white, beige, chola descent. You're Lebanese. You're Orient. Whether life's disabilities left you outcast, bullied or teased, rejoice and love yourself today, 'cause baby, you were born this way.
“No matter gay, straight, or bi, lesbian, transgender life, I'm on the right track, baby, I was born to survive. No matter black, white, or beige, Chola or Orient made, I'm on the right track, baby, I was born to be brave.”
This song reminds me that all I want is to be loved and accepted for who I am, not for who others want me to be. But what about everyone else? Everyone else wants the same thing that I do. If I can’t love and accept others for who they are, then I will surely never be accepted or loved in return.
We are each different. We come from different places and different circumstances, and we have all made different choices to become the individuals we are today. And all we want is to be loved and accepted for who we are. If I want that from others, then surely, I can do the same for them.
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Ruth Tyler Library 8041 Wood St, Midvale, UT 84047