life in the fast lane...

jessica has been really testing her mom a lot lately...since she has only had certain freedoms for a few months, you would think she would start out slow before trying to get the world! she has been "disappearing" for hours and talking on the phone constantly to the point where no one can call the house---she wont answer the other line if she is talking to the boyfriend...what drama!

there's a method to my madness...

in doing my field research i attempted to utilize a wide variety of mediums. i watched from the outside looking in whenever it was feasible, i "stalked" their myspace pages, i conversed in person, i surveyed them online, i used polls to see where they stood on certain issues (i.e. what do they see as important issues in the world), i participated in certain "rituals" and activities, i talked to their friends and family members, and last, but certainly not least, i peeked into where they spent their time...their significant spaces. i made mistakes...like when i had a conversation with ashley about her boyfriend and told her how i felt instead of hanging back and getting at what she felt at that moment...and when i gave jessica a lecture on respecting her mom...lol. i think though that all in all i learned a lot from these girls about how to really see someone...not just who they want the world to see...but that secret person inside that they hide to avoid being hurt sometimes.

i hope that i can operationalize all of the things i learned from all of my classmates as well...you guys are just about brilliant in how you can incorporate yourselves into the role of anthropologist with some of these kids...it was amazing to read about how effortless some of your interactions were with these kids.

i hope that i can put down in words what i feel i have learned...and let others see these young women as i have begun to really see them. i think that must be what the true lesson to be learned has become for me...the art of not only being there myself...but being able to evoke that same feeling in someone else who reads my research...

drama for jessica...

jessica has decided to pursue a power play with her mother...she is definitely testing her new freedoms and limits...at some point the line will finally get drawn on this one...hopefully i am there to see it!

the morning after...

ashley gave birth to a new baby boy...lucas james came into the world at 11:44 pm last night weighing in at 8lbs 2 oz and 20" long...both baby and momma are doing fine...here is a picture of the new family...

one year later...

as i watched both immersed in the "ritual" and off to one side as an observer...ashley displayed her pride at th marking of her son's first birthday. i saw his tentative steps as he walked shakily around the room...and felt the trepidation of the young mother as she talked about what next year would be like a her soon-to-be-born son lucas would celebrate this same milestone. she took pictures of everyone in the room...including the sorry looking "honey bear" that was supposed to look like pooh...

as the world turns..

i have been trying to get my thoughts together for the final two sections...and it isn't easy to see how it will all come together, but come together it must. I have seen a new side to these two young girls this semester as i worked with them on this project. i have had to try and both take myself out of the equation, and understand y place in the process at the same time. I hope that i have accomplished that goal. -

in the pink (or should i say green?)

ashley is waiting on the baby's birth...and the birth of her new nbaby brother since her mom is due the week after she is...and jessy is battling the teenage demons...it seems that an ex-boyfriend has stolen her password and hacked into her myspace site. she had to go through a lot to get the myspace fixed! that's about it for now!