Representations of the Female in Manga and Anime

Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman in Two Dimensional:
Representations of the Female in Manga and Anime

Walking into an entertainment store selling media, one cannot help but notice the carbonated bodies of teenage girls littering the floors. At first, thought goes to lack of sleep or malnutrition but the cause is evident in what they hold. Manga, or Japanese comics. Absorbed in black and white tales, with no regard to those stumbling and tripping around and over them, they are all but lost to the world. While across the store, customers are faced with a different ordeal.

Wandering the store would bring a person to notice a darkened section consisting of one or two aisles. A hanging sign dubbing the section Anime, or Japanese animation. Here, where only the bold and curious venture. Walking the aisle, one’s eyes immediately fly to a scantily clad woman, with absurdly long hair, the body to rival Aphrodite, and in a pose that hints at pornographic images. Roaming eyes reveal more and more of them, towering, surrounding, overwhelming. The light at the end of the aisle is a salvation, a beacon to reality.

A negative view has been given to Japan’s products because of ignorance of its culture. Manga and Anime have been often placed in the class of Comics and Cartoons by Americans rather then seen for what they are. Although there are many things that are taken into account for the negativity, the demeaning tone of the female characters has long been a campaign to discourage viewers and readers. Violence, blood, gore, and other issues that never came across in the Wiley Coyote and Roadrunner series not with standing.

Returning to the aisles in front of the “manga section” of the store, an increase in popularity of the manga books, which can be later turned into anime due to popularity, has some viewers concerned. However, looking around, understanding the culture from which such media came, and looking past face value can lead to the realization that encouragement and moral lessons can be seen. From the child’s dreams of the future to shaping of adolescence and the woman’s control of her life, can give examples that encourages the female mind, body, and soul.

The main argument to discourage consumers is the stereotypical female in manga and anime. In sexual conduct, subjugation to a male and contributes little to the story line except for the base of crude jokes and pranks. It cannot be denied that such stories exist in manga and anime, however, this is not all that they are comprised of, just as in real life not all woman follow this description. Manga and Anime have captured the many personalities of women with the heroines, sidekicks and foils. To better understand the subject, its history needs to be incorporated.

The combination of humor, social order, classism, myths, rituals, tradition, and many other of Japan’s key elements have long been imbedded in its history (Ito 457). Kinko Ito grasps this connection in “A History of Manga in the Context of Japanese Culture and Society” where, for example, she tells of the Horyuji Temple, built in 607 CE that was burned in 670 CE and gradually rebuilt. The “oldest wooden structure in Japan” (Ito 457) was shown to hold its very own time capsule secrets. In 1935, during repairs on the Temple, the ceiling planks reviled on their backs “grossly exaggerated phalli” (Schodt 28), and people and animals in caricature format. Ito dubs them “the oldest surviving Japanese Comic art” (Ito 457). The temple allows a thread to modern consumers, connecting the past and their history through the ancient comic art. A priceless treasure to be had since unity is the backbone to Japanese culture that does not exclude ancestors and those yet to be born.

Fast forwarding to 1953 manga and 1967 television series when Dr. Tezuka aired his gender bending hero/heroine Prince(ss) Sapphire in the girls’ comic market pioneer Princess Knight (Drazen 84-85) . Sapphire is a girl born with a boy’s heart when an angel handing out girl and boy hearts had a misunderstanding. She is an only child but being female cannot inherit her father’s kingdom, Silverland. Her parents then raised her to be a boy. However, her uncle wants the kingdom under his command and goes through many operations to prove her true gender. When her boy’s heart escapes she loses all her boy characteristics, fencing, bravery, horsemanship, and gains girl characteristics until the heart is returned, clashing with her role as a prince who saves a damsel. Later in the series, Sapphire’s father dies and her mother is imprisoned. Sapphire is then faced with yet another conflict: desire vs. duty. She has been raised as a boy to protect the kingdom but she is a girl who wants her Prince Charming, Franz Charming.

In the twenty-first century this story line is commonly used. However, in the pervious mid century, this was unusual. The depth and impact this story had, not just on the advancement of Shôjo manga (girl’s comics) but of society in general. Because of Sapphire’s cross dressing antics, there was a fair amount of hinting of shônen ai (boy’s love) in the series. The manga and anime also dug deeply into “beautiful boy”, boys who attract both other boys and girls. During a time of unique sexual preference being bad, a story like this was sure to cause commotion. Add that it was made for girls and history was in the making.

Ôe Chizuka, lesbian activist, and Mizoguchi Akiko, scholar, activist, and manga fan, share the common opinion that stories such as Princess Knight (Dr. Tezuka, 1953), The Rose of Versailles (Riyoko Ikeda, 1972-73), The Song of the Wind and the Trees (Keiko Takemiya,1976-84) helped them in their choice to “‘become’ a lesbian” (Welker 843, qut. in Akiko 49). All three story lines have cross dressing heroines, “boy’s love” and on (duty) vs. ninjo (desire) so that a relation can be achieved for anyone who has ever had faced conflicts that torment the main characters.

This popularity in female-female stories lead to the birth of a new genera, yuri. In theory, the name came about when characters early in the genera were named Yuri or Yuriko or that the name came from the 1970’s name for Japanese lesbians “the lily (yuri) tribe” (Drazen 97). At the beginning of this time, characters that displayed traces of yuri were made to be “best friends” when they came to America. Nakoko Takeuchi’s world popular Sailor Moon experienced such a change with her characters Michiru Kaioh (Michelle in America), Sailor Uranus and Haruka Tenoh (Amara in America), Sailor Neptune. Changing the story was not unheard of when anime was aired on American television and that has not kept fans from learning the truth in relationships. Seeing empowered woman follow what they feel and be accepted by friends and family would have helped other woman to find confidence to do likewise in all aspects of their lives. Unfortunate for the female image the story was changed in the first place.

Many other titles have been diverged from their original storyline when crossing the sea to America. The Vision of Escaflown, Escaflowne in America, by Kazuki Akane had the heroine, high school student Hitomi Kanzaki, thrust from her leading role to the background, leaving the hero, Van Slanzar de Fanel, the lead character. This was also apparent in Ageha Ohkawa’s Cardcaptor Sakura, Cardcaptors in America. Sakura Kinomoto is thrust aside as the main focus when her rival Syaoran Li takes the spotlight from the heroine. In these two imported television series directed at female viewer’s of the 1990’s, it would seem that America felt that the woman needed male support. The males of these two series seemed to have taken a larger role then what they were normally given.

A way to show representation is to tell what they think about often. To show what every adolescent without a Y-chromosome the answer is simple: boys. Matsuri Hino’s heroine, high school student Airi Hoshina, in Meru Puri: Märchen Prince wants nothing more then to find a suitable boyfriend to settle down with. Rowdy Elle Nagahara and Hanabi Ozora, from Rie Takada’s Punch! and Happy Hustle High, just want a boyfriend, almost to the point where any boy will do. At the end of each series, the heroines find love and, shown in short stories of the future, manage to make it last. In reality, most women are not so lucky to find a life long partner in their first boyfriend, usually taking many tests of trial and error. In young teens, this could lead to the hope that the first will be the only, giving them a reason to hold on when evidence screams to let go. Is there a solution to such a dilemma?

Yes. It takes form in Bisco Hatori’s Ouran High School Host Club. Haruhi Fujioka is a scholarship student at the prestigious Ouran High School. While trying to find a place to study, since the scholarship requires rank at the top of the class, Haruhi stumbles upon the Host Club. Consisting of six attractive, smart, rich and from powerful lineages even the rich admire, the club lives to its name and a great deal of cosplaying, including sets and costumes. Rich, school girls can come to the club and converse with the member of the Host Club of their choice: Takashi “Mori” Morinozuka and Mitsukuni “Hunny” Haninozuka are in their third year, second years President Tamaki Suou and Vice President Kyouya Ootori, Kaoru and Hikaru Hitachiin and Haruhi Fujioka in their first year. Haruhi is made a Host Club member to work off a debt when a vase was broken. Besides being the only member without more then one home out side of Japan, Haruhi is also a girl. To help achieve her quota of customers, she continues to play the part of a male. No problem for her since she admits she doesn’t really care for the male/female differences.

Besides being yet another gender bending comedy, Ouran High School Host Club is the perfect example to set where the adolescent female mind lies. Self-proclaimed “King” Tamaki Suou is the most requested host at the club due in large part to his sweet nothings:

Girl Customer: “Where will you take me for the summer, Tamaki?”

Tamaki: “Wherever you wish to go.”

Girl Customer: “What is your favorite kind of music?”

Tamaki: “Whatever you like, I like.”

Girl Customer: “I baked a cake today. Will you have a piece?”

Tamaki: “If you feed it to me.”

Girl Customer: “Oh, Tamaki…Jeepers…” (Hitori 9).

Hardly a stimulating conversation but he is the most requested host member. Reading through the manga and watching the anime series shows that most of members get the same responses. The Hitachiin twins play on forbidden love, shônen ai, between brothers, Hikaru more assertive and Kaoru timid in their acts around customers. Hunny has the adorable, boyish charm for liking cute things and his male companion and protector Mori is the stoic type. Kyouya is the cool, collected, mysterious member who is in charge for the clubs finances. Haruhi’s charm was proclaimed, by Tamaki, as naturally cute.

The anime and manga series shows what the stereotypical female wants in a male and can be categorized into these seven types. Girls, and guys alike, crave their attention and often times blush at their complements. With the cospalying, obvious sweet-nothing lines, and selective reality, this type of activity boarders on ‘I’ll be whatever you want me to be’. Almost to the point of painfully, semi-hidden insult for female patrons who fall for the act, it posses the question of why these bright, young woman would pay for their companionship. Hitori answers the question simply, they are bored and rich: “The wealthy are blessed with idle hours … and six handsome especially idle students have formed the host club … to entertain females also burdened by a surfeit of leisure time” (Hatori 3).

The only one who is not seeking and is in fact nonchalant about their flirtation is Haruhi. Despite ignored advances, the host club members seem to develop strong feelings for her in their own ways, wither it be in friendship or something closer. Showing their affection, the club is constantly trying to bring, and sometimes drag, Haruhi into their life style, thinking it the better of the two. Her “commoner” status also leaves her as the leading expert at school in “commoner” food, housing, games and other everyday activity. It maybe her “commoner status” that leaves her immune to the Host Clubs charms. Whatever the case, Haruhi is the perfect example that the world is not perfect, even the imagined one.

Further display of the imagined world’s imperfectness is its need of mothers. It is a shame that it seems mothers in anima and manga are dying or dead. However, just as in real life, they are always with the characters, influencing, encouraging and leaving wisdom. Haruhi Fujioka’s, of Ouran High School Host Club, mother died when she was a little girl but it is her mother that has driven her to Ouran High School in the first place. She is perusing a career as a lawyer, just as her mother was. Fruits Basket’s protagonist Tohru Honda’s mother died before the story began but her death set the story in motion. Because of Kyoko Honda’s death, Tohru is left homeless and she goes to live in a tent in the woods on the Sohma estate. The Sohma family discovers her and welcome into their home as a house keeper. Throughout the chapters, Tohru gives advice and teaches lessons to the cursed family members that her mother taught her before she died.

In Hayao Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro a family of three, Tatsuo (father), Satsuki (oldest daughter 11), Mei Kusakabe (youngest daughter 4), has moved to the country side so they can be closer to their ailing mother, Yasuko Kusakabe, who is staying in a hospital recovering from tuberculosis. Through out the movie, Yasuko is seen approximately four times but is the main drive for the movie (Drazen 137). The little girls are worried that her illness will take a turn for the worst and are always reassuring to each other although they keep their personal fear to themselves. Many things may separate anime and manga from the three dimensional world but the love and influence mothers have is felt in both.

No matter how similar things are, there is always a trait that sets them apart. Physical features of anime and manga characters are identifiable at first glace. The eyes, window to a persons soul, are immediately recognized. Although abnormally large there is a reason for the considerable windows on these fictional characters. The size of a person’s eyes determines their innocence’s. Large eyes signify childlike wonder, trust and virtue. Where as small eyes are geared toward the person being guarded, experienced and wise. The eyes of these fictional characters’ have a reputation of being given only to women but this is false. Every person, and the images that mimic them, has had the window to their souls thrown wide open at one time or another.

Another misconception given to manga and anime is it’s relation to pornographic images. Although different societies have different definitions of what is considered porn, Japan has placed in its Criminal Code under Article 175 “interpreted for comics, adult genitalia, pubic hair, and sexual intercourse may not be written; children’s genitals and extremely “cartoony” renderings are permissible, however” (Schodt 133). Most outlining of the female body, normally used when a ‘transformation is in process, relates to the Japanese creation story. Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, shut the sun along with herself into a cave because of her brother, Susanoo, rude behavior. Goddess Uzume heard of what Amaterasu did and staged a strip tease. Drawn out by the other gods cheering of Uzume’s act, the sun was let back into the world and life continued (Drazen 48,49). This story is the reason that most forms of change include a state of nakedness, to show purity of the characters before taking on a sacred or powerful form (Drazen 56). However, a form of porn in anime has been developed, hentai. Despite all the controversy between hentai and other genera’s that come dangerously close to it, there is always a pureness in its meaning.

Manga and Anime have received mix reviews by fans and non-fans alike. With its hidden meanings, complex storylines and other excuses that keep others from attempting to understand, there is one key element: it is a reflection of the life we live, just with cat/girls, magic and gigantic robots. The women that it represents are based on the writers’ and artists’ experiences with the gender. The women we see in manga and anime are the same women setting next to us, walking down the street, or familiar to us. When watching anime and reading manga, one merely sees a refection of life. From the screaming schoolgirls, influencing mothers, gender bending heroines to the common woman, the space fighters, those longing to be accepted, the teenage girls littering the floors across the globe feel your emotions, empathize with your story, are encouraged, and hear your call for change.


Bibliography
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Brown, Steven T. Cinema Anime. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006.

Drazen, Patrick. Anime Explosion: The What? Why? & Wow! Of Japanese Animation. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press, 2003.

Duke University Libraries. http://www.lib.duke.edu/ias/eac/popculture/anime.htm

Hatori, Bisco. Ouran High School Host Club Volume One San Francisco: Viz Media, LLC, 2002.

Ito, Kinko. “A History of Manga in the Context of Japanese Culture and Society.” The Journal of Popular Culture 38.3 ( February 2005): 456-475.

Kelly, William W. Fanning the Flames: Fans and Consumer Culture in Contemporary Japan. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2004.

Larsen, Erik. Blog. 27 July 2007. http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/?column=20

Manion, Annie. Discovering Japan: Anime and Learning Japanese Culture. Thesis (M.A.): University of Southern California, 2005.

Nakar, Eldad. “Memories of Pilots and Planes: World War II in Japanese Manga, 1957-1967” Social Science Japan Journal 6.1 (2003): 57-76.

Ogi, Fusami. “Female Subjectivity and Shoujo (Girls) Manga (Japanese Comics): Shoujo in Ladies’ Comics and Young Ladies Comics.” The Journal of Popular Culture 36.4 (May 2003): 780-803.

Rommens, Aarnoud. “Manga story-telling/showing” Image [&] Narrative 1.1 (August 2000):.

Schodt, Frederik L., Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics. New York: Kodansha International, 1983.

Welker, James. “Beautiful, Borrowed, and Bent: “Boys’ Love” as Girls’ Love in Shôjo Manga.” Sign: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 31.3 (2006): 841-870.

Interviews at the Indigenes Games

Tanisha Head, 8, took time out of watching the intense basketball game playing on the floor below to stop by the vending machine for a snack. Head had traveled seventeen hours from Ogichidaag, Minnesota with her family to watch her older brother, Tridell Head, 15, play. Tridell was number 24 for Team Minnesota. He had traveled with the team while his younger sister rode with five other people for the Indigenous Games. Tanisha said that she was enjoying the games and her visit to Colorado. Her and her family was planning on going home after the Games were over. When asked if she wanted to play in the Games when she was older, Tanisha said yes and that she would like to play basketball, like her older brother.

Carol, 42, and Becky, 73, Vigil came to Colorado to see today’s Native American youth in the sports world, since their family is a sports family. They had traveled from Tesque Pueblo, New Mexico, an eight-hour trip, to watch the Indigenous Games. They all so said that they were visiting a brother in Longmont, just east of Boulder. They both said that they were enjoying the games immensely, so much so that this reporter had to move with them when they moved from the baseball field to the basketball courts. Carol said that she was pleased that the youth were “getting more involved with Native culture.” She said that language was important and that the elders held the key to the youth involvement in their own culture. Becky said that the disappoint in the youth today was their lack of “respect to their families, communities and culture.” She went on to say that her own family believed that the first language a child should learn is their native language and how her family practiced this belief, in their case, the Tewa language and English as their second language. Becky said that she felt sorry for those that do not know their native languages and even more sorry that their parents do not know the language either.

Meeting Lace Frank’s, 28, mother, both of the Warm Springs or Columbia River Tribe, in line for frybread was an expected pleasure. Frank and her family traveled from Warm Springs, Organ in two different vehicles, one going a day ahead of the other, to come to the games. Lace’s brother was to have been in Baseball for team Organ but the team backed out of the competition before leaving for the games. She said that the coach, Roy Spino, gave many excuses as to why the team had to forfeit, money and the altitude of Colorado and how it will effect the boys performance was gave as a reason. However, Frank and her family still decided to come to Colorado. She liked the games. She felt that they helped unite different tribes by bring them together under common ground. When asked what she did not like about the Games, Lace said that the program for the events were not informative enough, the times were off and they did not announce who was playing whom. Or that they would arrive at the designated time but the event would already be finishing up. So they had to roam around and hope to stumble upon an event in progress. Jamie Scott, 29, Frank’s husband, was in Denver to promote Native Network Media, a “positive movement” to provide a role modal for Native American youth. Scott described bring the Native youth together as “beautiful” so they could met other Native Americans and become friends with them. Since the reservation in which they come from has “no family structure” for its youth, Scott decided to give the youth an opportunity to succeed by seeing those that have, so they would not long think that the reservation was good enough for them. Traveling with their two sons, one six year old and a four mouth old, the family was planning on leaving Denver on Sunday.

Indigenes Games Notes

Indigenes Games Notes
By: Loyola Rankin

Tanisha Head, 8.
Place of interview: vending machine
Home: Ogichidaag, Minnesota
Summery: This is Tanisha’s first time at the Games. She drove 17 hours with her family, 5 people in the vehicle, to see her brother Tridell, 15, play basketball for Team Minnesota, number 24 on the team. She was very informative and said that she was enjoying her time at the games and her visit to Colorado. She also said that she wanted to be in the Indigenes Games as a basketball player.


Carol Vigil, 42 Becky Vigil, 73
Place of interview: down the sidewalk, baseball field-basketball court
Home: Tesque Pueblo, New Mexico (10 miles out of Santa Fe)
Summery: Visiting a brother in Longmont (east of Boulder). Drove 8 hours just to watch the games, very sport orientated family. 4 people in the vehicle. They said that they were enjoying the games so far. Both liked that Native American youth were getting involved with their culture and that language was important as well as their elders. Becky said that a disappointment about the youth was that they were not involved with their culture, community and family. Also that they did not know their own language or that their parents did not know the language as well. Proudly stated that her grandchildren knew their language, Tewa, as their first language and English as their second.


Lace Frank, 28 Jamie Scott, 29
Place of interview: Next to the concession (frybread) stand, baseball field
Home: Warm Springs, Oregon
Summery: All from the Warm Springs/Columbia River Tribe. Younger brother, Jereme Tallbu, 13, was to play on Team Oregon but the team forfeited. Roy Spino, the coach of Team Oregon, gave different reasons to different people: no money, the Colorado elevation was going to affect the boys’ performance. The team consisted of 13 and 14 year olds. Came down to Colorado in two cars; both with four passengers, one car leaving a day a head of the other. One car leaving a day earlier then the other when the Games are over. “I like it, it’s really neat.”-Frank. The unity of different tribes, also a positive movement. Drug and Alcohol free event. “A lot more (youth) involvement.”-Frank. Tribe did not help with more, needed a sponsor. “Tribe does not care about the youth.”-Frank. The organization of the events needs work: times of events, which is playing whom, where are they playing, stick to times given. Been everywhere to find an event in progress. Over all, wroth the trip: meet new people, find out about other tribes, bring people together (Native American Olympics). They have a 6 year old son and a 4 month old son. Scott thinks that youth need a role model to give encouragement. The Games is a beautiful thing for youth who “grew up in cities with no natives.” He is a rapper and a promoter for Native Network Media. Likes the word “Native better. “Fraction natives” prouder then “full natives.” Youth think that the rez is good enough.

CUUB Study Hall

Study Hall
By: Loyola Rankin

At 7:40 p.m. Farrend Hall is in a fury as students rush to get to study hall. The halls are filled with teenagers talking quickly so they could finish up the last of their story of what they did during free time. Five minutes later the once echoing halls are silent, filled with the ghosts of memories. Now the sound of young voices is coming from three of Farrend’s study rooms: Renolds, McColon and “The Pool Room. Renolds is abundant with rising sophomores, while McColon’s students are approaching” an important year as juniors and The Pool Room contains the future seniors in the fall.

CU Upward bound’s mandatory study hall gets mixed reviews, but all seem to agree that it is helpful to students. To have time set aside to do homework is a good habit that may carry on with students into college. Time management is one issue most have to deal with when achieving a higher education.
Jessica Becenti, 17, tests this by hurriedly working on her Journalism homework during the last hour of study hall. She seems frustrated because after she completes this assignment, she still has Calculus and Physics homework due the next day to finish. She could barely take her eyes off the screen of the laptop loaned to her by a friend. Becenti says going to the computer lab in Willard took too much time out of the two hours that study hall runs for. Citing her heavy workload, she says sometimes two hours is not enough time to finish all her assignments.

“It’s study hall’s fault that I have to skip breakfast because there’s not enough time to get my homework done,” Becenti says.

Jennifer Raines, an instructor’s assistant, agrees with Becenti, “A student could spend two hours on math but would not be able to get their other assignments done,” she says.

Since Instructors only have to attend study hall once a week and Instructor’s Assistants three times a week, an option she offers would be to have some Instructors come to help students during their free time. Raines admitted sometimes she is caught with no one to help. During this time, she will work on her grading or go to the other study rooms to see if anyone there might need her help. Since she helps in Research and Writing, College Preparatory, Biology and Art, Raines is hardly caught with nothing to do or no one to help.
Raelene Manuelito, a first year at the program, sees it differently. While she says the computer lab in Willard was a real help to students when Instructors wanted their assignments typed, she mostly finds study hall boring. Manuelito offers the suggestion that, in the rarity, students who do not have homework should not be made to go to study hall. However, other participants in the program note that first years have a less work load then the other students.

For Research and Writing and College Preparatory Instructor Lori Fields, study hall serves more than an academic purpose, providing her with the opportunity to talk to students and get to know them better. Beyond offering them help in their classes, she also uses study hall to connect with students as a peer. When with students during study hall, Fields talks of her experiences in college, assignments, the program, and the students’ future goals, dreams and plans.

“(It’s) Good because it’s the only time people are there to help students individually.” Fields says for the first three weeks of the program she goes to Study hall once a week but for the last three weeks she may be see in Study hall two or three times a week.

Although study hall is an academic exercise, it also has disciplinary uses. If a minor rule is broken, such as not wearing the programs red shirts on field trips, signing-in late for meals, entering the dorms before designated times, having lights on after “lights out,” etc, the rule breaker is put into extra study hall. Depending on the seriousness of the broken rule, a student could lose one hour of their free time or both hours. Some students say they take into consideration extra study hall before breaking any rule. Not only can one get extra study hall for discipline but also for academic reasons. If a student’s Instructor feels that a student deserves it or their grades are low, that student gets extra study hall.

Nic Benally, 16, has split feelings for study hall and extra study hall. Benally says study hall is good because students can get work done with the time set aside.

While he finds study hall helpful, Benally says he believes the time would be more effective if more help from the resident advisors was available.

“They’re not being good mentors for the students because they’re not helping students with their homework,” he says. “They’re not using their knowledge that they’ve obtained through college and high school. They’re texting or on their phones or talking to other RAs.”

However, Benally feels extra study hall students cannot get help with their work because there is no talking allowed and the Instructors or the Instructor’s Assistants are not there to help. He says he does not have the self-discipline to continue putting aside two hours in the fall for homework because he has a car and he would be hanging out with friends instead.

CU Upward Bound Director David Sanders feels study hall is necessary. He says that students would not be willing to sacrifice their own time to work on their assignments. The program, according to Sanders, is giving students the space to make their own small choices and see the result of those choices. By teaching these “life lessons,” students can become better prepared for college life, where they will not have anyone telling them to finish their homework or to get enough rest for the next day. One bad choice is built upon by many more bad choices, Sanders claims, and personal sacrifice is what is needed to correct these choices.

“Ultimately, it’s the students responsibility to have a positive experience with learning…” Sanders asks “Are you disciplined enough to do what needs to be done?”

Awards

My award for Academic Excellence in Native American Literature would have to be one of my best awards. I was completely taken by surprise when my name was called for this award at the University of Colorado in Boulder Upward Bound program farewell banquet in the summer of 2005. This course was my favorite out of the several other I attended during the six weeks.

I also was shocked when I received Best in Social Studies in the eighth grade. Social studies was and still is one of my favorite courses.

I also have many certificates of completion from various programs: University of Colorado at Boulder Upward Bound, College Horizons, Northern Arizona University Youth Conference just to name a few. Many do not see this as an award but I do. To have started a program, anything really, and complete it when the pressure was consuming and failure a breath away says much for a person’s character.
There are also some gag awards that I am fond of. Most of the gag awards I have are from instructors from the Upward Bound program. Some of the titles for the gag awards are: Brave Face Award for Courage, Future World Leader, and Interrogator Award.

I have also received the Star Ward from the University of New Mexico. This award was given to all students in the top tem percent of their junior class in the state of New Mexico. I was one of eight at my high school to have received this award.

There is also the award for being Tohatchi High School 2005’s ST. Jude Children Research Hospital Trivia Champion. This was more of a community service. The National Honor Society branch of Tohatchi High School held a competition in trivia for all members of the community and school. Of all that participated, I gave the most correct answers. Each right question held a sum of money that would be donated by the community and my self to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Gates Essay 7

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about that may help us evaluate your nomination, i.e., personal characteristics, obstacles you have overcome, etc.?

One issue that most people, whatever their age, face is their ethnicity, whether that issue is discrimination, racism or coping with who they are. I faced the same problem during the beginning of my junior year of high school, where there is only one percent non-Native American students and staff. There was no way to convince me that high school, college, or life had any meaning. There was no doubt in my mind that life was empty and bleak. Then one day in the ordinary, everyday class of Algebra II, when my friends and I were slacking off, I looked down at my hands. I believe that I have abnormally large hands that have a tendency to intrigue me and revolt me simultaneously. However, on this occasion I did not notice the size of my hands but that the skin on my palms was peeling. I know it’s a cliché but it really felt as if the clouds had parted in my life.

To fully understand this strange uplifting moment, I have to tell of five years prior to the hand incident. I was attending a small Christian school near my home for the wrong reasons. Mainly because childhood name-calling about my parents ethnicity and my skin color led me to this decision. While there I began to view things through a Christian point of view and I was not very polite or understanding about it. I began to criticize other religions, including my mother’s. My mother’s religion, therefore mine by birth, speaks of snakes as a bad omen. We are not allowed to watch snakes eat or touch them. During my self proclaimed revolt, I found the opportune moment to publicly put down my Navajo roots. It was on a field trip to the Phoenix Zoo that the moment came. A reptile caretaker was putting on a show to display the animals of the reptile house up close and personal. When one of his assistants walked by with a common garden snake, temptation was just too great. With a held breath for courage I eagerly thrust forth both of my hands and allowed the snake’s scales to glide against the skin of my palms. Afterwards, I had a strange feeling as if a crime had been committed and it had. When the group returned to the Navajo Reservation, I pushed the feeling down and proudly declared to all my adventure with the snake. I foolishly told my grandmother straight out what I had done and that I had done it on purpose. She and everyone else were shocked speechless by my open defiance of my culture. I was warned about the vaguely put, impending doom. When I asked what was to happen to me, for precautions sake, none would answer. A few months later, I noticed that my hands grew cold far too often and that my hands had unnatural peeling. It was not until several years later that I figured out that when the skin of my palms feels like that of a snake when they peel.

That day in the classroom, I remembered that I am Navajo. Despite the fair complexion of my skin and half Mexican, I am a Navajo. As a Navajo I will always have family wherever I go, be it family by blood or by clan, ergo I’ll never be alone. In my culture, family is very important and valued. I told my mother of the revelation a few weeks after the incident. She told me that a simple song from a medicine man would stop the peeling. I considered going through the singing but decided not to because this experience helped me to understand that though I am only half Navajo, I am still Navajo. This uplifting, strange yet sentimental moment has taught me to respect others and all things. The experience has also taught me not to convert just to fit in, that being different is not such a bad thing. But most importantly, this experience has taught me that I will always be a Navajo/Mexican. No matter what I think I am, I will always have my identity in this respect.
I have found a fraction of who I am in my childhood home the Navajo Reservation. Just as being Navajo is only apart of who I am as a whole person, I must find the rest of me all across my life. To truly find out who I am, I must place my self in circumstances that are outside of what I have experienced before. Going to a school where only one percent of the entire campus population is non-Native American, then going to a school where below one percent of the population is Native American is just the experience I need to grow as a person. Only then can I say with confidence what I am and only then will I know what I would do in an uncomfortable situation. By achieving this personal nirvana, I will be able to go back to the Navajo Reservation from which I came to help them discover their capabilities. My goal is to find out who I am before I help others make the same discovery about themselves. I believe that I can accomplish this goal with the help of a higher education.

High School Activites

Extracurricular Activities
Freshmen Class Representative 2003-2004

National Honor Society Member 2004-2007
Sophomore Class Secretary 2004-2005
Peace Jam 2004-2005

National Honor Society Vice President 2005-2006
Junior Class Secretary 2005-2006
Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement 2005-2006
Native Club 2005-2006

National Honor Society President 2006-2007
Senior Class Secretary 2006-2007

Employment History
Navajo Nation Work Force Development July 2004
Gallup City Hall Planning Department
Secretary

University of Colorado Upward Bound Summer 2005
School Year 2005-2006

University of Colorado Upward Bound Summer 2006
School Year 2005-2006

Gates Essay 6

Discuss your involvement in and contributions to a community near your home, school, or elsewhere. Please select an experience different from the one you discussed in the previous question, even if this experience also involved leadership. What did you accomplish? How did this experience influence your goals?

Many people have told me that I have the potential to be a leader. I have also heard that I am a leader. However, I like to think of myself as a leader with shifting followers. Or even as a Leader for rent, with progress as my payment. As Shakespeare once said, “Some are born to greatness, some achieve greatness and others have greatness thrust upon them” I merely find myself the latter of the three.

I do not think of myself as leader because all leaders have a way of being thrust to the side eventually by another. I think that I am more of a person who is walking one direction and if a group just happens to be walking the same way just slightly behind me then I will show them what is ahead of them through examples. It is then their responsibility and choice to learn.

For instance, when I was younger, my cousins and I wanted to go for a nature hike in the mountains behind our home. While the others had their eyes on reaching the peak of the mountaintop, I kept my eyes on our surroundings. I was the first to notice that a rattlesnake was only feet from us. To make sure that no one panicked, I off handedly suggested that we take a look at an interesting looking rock formation several yards away. When I deemed the situation was under control, I broke the news of the rattlesnake to the eldest of us as calmly as possible, even though I could barely control my own tormented emotions. I then let one of my older cousins take control in leading us back home. The need to be in charge at all times eludes me. If the group or I feel that there is another who is more capable of leading, I will hand them control. My goal was to walk my own way and if some just happen to follow, then so be it.

I will never turn my back on someone in need if I can help him or her. If I cannot, then it is my duty to find someone who will. I know what a leader is. A leader is someone who puts their own personal gain and wants behind that of the groups. A leader is a worker for his or her group; they do what is best for everyone. They also know who they are and their morals are strong. It was during my junior year of high school that my ideals on a leader where tested.

I was elected as the vice president of the National Honor Society. Although I was afraid and did not feel I was ready to lead so large a group, I knew that I had to try. After a while I began to become accustomed to helping the president of National Honor Society. More than my executive role, I was still a member. I helped in the semiannual Naakai Park Clean Up and the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital’s Trivia. I felt that I was making a difference by putting in my own comments and observations so the president’s term went as smoothly as possible. Through my junior year as vice president, I lead through example. That very same year, our organization held elections for next year’s officers and I was nominated for the presidency.

I was shocked that I had been considered with such an honor. However, I knew that with our sponsor's impending departure from the Tohatchi High School staff, we needed a leader who could carry us through the next year. As much as I knew that it would look great on a resume, I knew even more that the organization needed a responsible, strong and trustworthy president. At first, my speech was to be about all the qualities I have that would make me a good president. However, when the time came for me to give my speech, I merely stated what I felt; with our sponsor gone, we would need a great president to not only lead us but to lead the new sponsor as well. As the other nominations for president and I stepped into the hall so the voting could commence, I felt relived that I had made my peace with the other members.

I was told later on that the race was so close that the promoter had to ask for voters to vote again. In the end, I was elected as the 2006-2007 president for National Honor Society. It is with the thought that some members do not deem me worthy of the position that I strive harder to become a leader they can be proud of. I made my intentions known at the National Honor Society Induction where I was to give a speech. I said with deep sincerity that I would do my best to lead them and that I would draw my inspiration from other leaders that have lead our people. People like Chief Manulito, who knew even when times were hard on this tribe that education was the pathway to greater things. This experience has taught me that my ideas of a leader where not all farfetched.

I am still trying to find out who I am but along the journey I will help others determine who they want to be. I do know what areas that I need work on, so that means I can improve. I have had the National Honor Society teach me more than I could ever give back. With the experiences it has allowed me I know that one day I will become a leader that everyone would be proud to follow

Gates Essay 5

Discuss a leadership experience you have had in any area of your life - school, work, athletics, family, church, community, etc. How and why did you become a leader in this area? How did this experience influence your goals?

When I was a child, my home was shattered. I lost both of my parents to the world at the age of six. My father, having divorced my mother, moved out of our home. My mother went to her friends and alcohol to help ease the war raging within her. When they were out trying to pull themselves together, my siblings and I were left to our small village for guidance.

Through the hard times and abundant good times, my siblings and I have stuck together. In a way, I, being the oldest girl of the four of us, had become a surrogate mother. Although I could never give them an actual mother’s love, I looked after my two older brothers; made sure they did not get into too many fights. I helped my sister through the toughest lesson of being a girl: boys. And yet, I still managed to live a wonderful childhood myself.

In many ways, I could never measure up to what an ideal mother was. Although I tried and did my best, I was never meant to be their mother. It was not the role I was meant for and futilely and foolishly, that made me try even harder to be what I was not.

As we grew older, my brothers became more distant and my sister seemed to no longer need my help. At the time I did not understand what was happening. I tried to hold us together with the strength that I was given but it seemed that I was not fully developed. With one last regret, I let go. I let them move on with their lives. Now that I think back on that time, I see that even though I was a somewhat surrogate mother, I still had a mother’s disposition to hold on to her children. I did not realize that I was no longer needed to fill that role. It was during the time that I let go that I was able to return to what I really was, their sister.

With the past a well-learned lesson, my mother returned home and my father made a home for himself in Albuquerque. To this day I try and help my siblings in any way possible, from getting them up in the morning for school to setting a good example even the oldest can look up to. I still manage to fulfill my natural roll as annoying younger sister and seemingly wise older sister. This has taught me to cherish who I am and to do everything I can to protect my small family. I have been a peacemaker and the butt of every embarrassing memory but what I am most proud and honored to be is this family’s leader.

Gates Essay 4

Discuss your short and long-term goals. Are some of them related? Which are priorities?

For my short goals, I will graduate high school. Right now, five months is a short time off. I have put in countless hours to graduating and now at the final stretch of my high school career, I fear that I will trip and not get to my goal. With my family, friends and teachers by my side, my fear lessens but does not disperse.
Since the day I learned there was an “after-high-school,” I decided I would do whatever necessary to go to college. Although my choice of college and career has changed rapidly and often, I never let it disintegrate my determination to go to college. I know now as much as I did then, maybe even more so, that I am going to college. It may be a community college the next town over or an Ivy League university.

Another one of my goals is to find a way to pay for college without being a burden on my family. They have done so much for me in way of my life and if I could give them this one little gift of reassurance that I will be okay as far as college goes, I know that will only reduce what I owe to them. With help of scholarships like the Gates Millennium Scholarship, I know that I can make my family proud.

I do know, however, that I want to travel the world. This has been my dream since I stumbled onto a travel guide loaded with pictures and watched Animal Planet with my grandparents when I was a child. The places at the top of my list to visit are: Japan because of the Navajo Code Talkers participation during World War II, Germany because I broke my mother’s coffee cup that she got from a friend who went Germany, England because of it’s rich traditions, and so many other places just because they are there for exploration. I have been told the best ways to travel are through the military, becoming a pilot or stewardess. I discard the military ideal because I know I could never do what they do. My nerves can tolerate flying for a period of time but not enough to become a pilot or stewardess. Then I heard of college Study Abroad programs and knew I finally found a suitable way for me to travel.

Forever thankful to my homeland, the Navajo Reservation, I will come home and settle down after spreading my wings across this world. I plan on returning a wise elder and just another member of my small community, just another helping hand in our small corner of the world. I have no delusions of being marked in history for some great deed or another. Fame and glory are not on my list of ‘necessities.’ I just want to help where I can and live my life to the fullest.

My goals are simple but attainable. As a child, I thought that merely asking to do these wonderful things would get me there. I learned quickly that I had to find my own way and that lead me to think of my strengths. Coming up blank except for my intelligence, I have now made it my life’s goal to see as much as the world as I can. I want to be the difference to one person and I know that will make my life complete. I have found a way to get what I want out of life and that is through my education.

Gates Essay 3

Briefly describe a situation in which you felt that you or others were treated unfairly or were not given an opportunity you felt you deserved. Why do you think this happened? How did you respond? Did the situation improve as a result of your response?

I have been faced with challenges just like the next person. These challenges may not be as great or as world changing, but they are my challenges so they are special to me. I have made many mistakes. I have been so smart that I’ve been called dumb. My family can tell many stories when I’ve been less then brilliant. Whenever they get together, there is always at least one story of my stupidity, even though every one was there to witness it. However, they will never be able to recall my worst mistake. My character had been tested; I had been challenged and I had failed.

One day after school, when I was about ten, a few of the neighborhood kids stopped by my house after school. My older brother, Lee, was setting up his new Play Station to play, while my younger sister, the other children and I made snacks. My oldest brother, Angelo, walked in and wanted to play too. My brothers got into an argument over who would play first, which was not uncommon since my parents divorce but that day was different. That day, things got violent. After realizing that talk was not getting him any closer to playing, Angelo hit Lee to the ground. I was shocked because we never abused each other. We had seen enough of that kind of abuse when my parents were still together and did not wish to repeat it.

In the stunned silence, Angelo kicked Lee against the wall and continued to kick him. I was frozen. I could only watch as my strong oldest brother beat my sensitive older brother. Angelo realized what he was doing and stopped. It was then that I came back to myself and I did the only thing my belated reflexes would allow. I cried and ran. I ran to my grandma’s house and told her what had happened. She then took the situation in hand and dealt with the matter.

I knew what had to be done. Being the oldest there, excluding my brothers, I should have acted sooner. The responsibility was mine to keep everyone safe, but I did not. For my hesitance, my brother Lee has one more emotional scar on top of so many others. I had the ability to protect my older brother as he has protected me so many times and I could not do it. I saw a loved one in pain and I froze. This is just another tender memory that brings a wave of shame, hurt, and anger as its shadow. I learned and made it my life-long goal never to freeze like that again when others need help.

Through all my choices, the weightless feeling of the good and all the heartache that came from the bad, I have been able to grow as a person. I believe a person can learn from failure, just as I have. Although this memory is painful, with out that choice I would not be the person I am today. If this memory does anything, it ensures that no one else will be hurt if it is within my power to stop it. Until I can be able to forgive my self, that will have to do.

Gates Essay 1

Discuss the subjects in which you excel or have excelled. To what factors do you attribute your success?

Of all the courses I have taken during my educational career, English would have to be the subject in which I excel. I feel enjoyment in reading and writing. These joys have been learned from others and have been self-taught. I discovered such joys when I was young. I have kept them growing along side me; from childhood to young adult. After a time I found that I could use such hobbies as strengths in my schoolwork. Now, in the present, I can see the full potential of childhood hobbies. More then ever I seek to make what has become passable into wonderful.

I was so proud that I could make out the words when I first began reading that I found that I could not stop. Writing came soon after and had the same effect. When I began to dislike the outcome of the story, I changed the books I read to fit my own personal entertainment. Soon after I started to make up my own stories. I have never been able stop turning simple everyday actions into words in a gripping tale. Since it has become apparent that my family grew tired of such narrations, my tendency is to keep them in an everlasting story within my mind. My hope is to one day be able to copy them down on paper to share with others in a chance to inspire them as I have been.

Thoughtful by nature and poetic by choice, I understand English because I cannot comprehend its vastness. I see English as a living entity that connects anyone who hears and understands it. I once had to give a presentation to my English III class and during the speech I began to go on about how we are connected through, not just English, but also any language. About three minutes into my lecture, I realized that the English language had taken a few members of my audience and my self away to the tip of its vastness. Although I trip once in a while on all the rules and minor errors, I know that I can get my audience to understand.

Many teachers have told my that my writing is still ignorant but has potential to become something great, like a power that only needs to be tamed. My family members have told me that I live my life though books and it is unhealthy - that I live in a world completely my own, where only things that I say exist roam. As my reality became shattered when I was young, I agree that I have retreated unto myself. It is a habit that I am currently trying to break. What once started out as a hobby became more so, both actions have become my source of comfort, my escape.

Like life itself, my childhood shadow will evolve yet again. What had started out as a simple hobby evolved into my escape. Now, my reading and writing is more intimate. Through discipline that I truthfully admit I do not have, I will make both actions better. I will read more compelling nonfiction and write stronger works of literature. Perhaps, one day see all the growing and enjoyable work come to a lucrative end.
I would have to owe my success first to my mother. She read to me when I was very young and it was then that I was captivated by the English language through the weaving of stories and other’s thoughts. She also wrote for a hobby. Mostly, she wrote about how she was feeling at the time and letters to no one. She used her natural gift to help her siblings when they could not comprehend what a job was asking in a resume. She has been through many jobs in her lifetime and every time she has held an important position. She claims that she owes her success to her presentation of herself and her excellent English comprehension.

I also owe my thoughtful and emotional nature to my success. My siblings and I often get into heated discussions over matters that seemingly have no meaning. We have taught ourselves, with the help of each other, to question everything. Although this does not help our trusting disposition, it has taught us to think. I have thought about anything that has happened to me, to someone I know, something’s that could happen, and many other things that has allowed me to learn. My emotional nature has showed me how to speak and write about feelings with sincerity. Lying in my work is an impossible act for me. I cannot help but place a bit of me into everything that I do. Although this has landed me in some awkward circumstances at times, it has also taught me to think upon those circumstances and learn from them.

More than any other course, I feel confidant and secure in English. I know that my errors are small but many and I have been trying to overcome that flaw but when I start to write, I just have to get it all out or it may be crushed by my other thoughts. I can honestly say that I have had many clever ideals but could not get them out fast enough before they were lost. I know that there is still much to learn about my favorite course and I look forward to every second that teaches me even more.

When looking back, my writing and reading seem like childhood friends; simply loyal, understanding and nonjudgmental. Just I have, these friends have grown. For now, I shall hold on to these moments of pure wonder and haven. As with all teenagers, my writing is currently revolting, unbalanced and without structure; parallel to the genera reading I am currently indisposed with. Over time and a whole lot of self-discipline, both enjoyments will become full of false wisdom, a comfort to their minions and model citizens. The future seems bright with possibilities for both of us.

Gates Essay 2

Discuss the subjects with which you had difficulty. What factors do you believe contributed to your difficulties? How have you dealt with them so they will not cause problems for you again? In what areas have you experienced the greatest improvement? What problem areas remain?

The subjects in which I have the most difficulty are my language subjects. Curious, since that the subject I excel at is English. The language subjects to which I am referring are courses such as Spanish, Navajo, French, Japanese and any other languages. I believe that I have so much difficulty with these courses is because I have a poor memory and my pronunciation is in desperate need of practice. I have tried to improve by using the languages in everyday life and asking questions many times. I have to give myself some credit; I have never given up on trying to learn.

In the new age of television and computers, some fear that human memory is slipping; I would have to say it is but not because of television or computers. In some cases, people just have bad memory. I know because I am one of them. I have tried to remember the order of the sentences in different languages, how words change when they are being congregated, and the words themselves. For some reason, the words and rules of the language take longer for me to remember. I also believe that pronunciation of the words that I do remember are off key. I once tried saying one of the Navajo Sacred Mountains in Navajo and came up with the private parts of the male gender. I was left blissfully unaware until the instructor took me to the side and informed me of my mistake. I believe it is not hard to guess that my embarrassment left me breathless.
I have tried many different ways of learning another language. I have tried using words in everyday life so that I may become more accustomed to them but it takes me so long to form the sentences that others just continue the conversation without me. I have also asked questions of the instructors and my fellow students. This leaves me not only embarrassed that I have to continue to ask them the same question more than once but also ashamed that I cannot make the meaning stick. More then anything, there is confusion and shame that something I cannot seem to learn other languages.

Despite the conflicting emotions, I still attempt to learn other languages. I still have the childish sentences and the faulty pronunciations. However, I encourage my self by saying that one must learn to crawl before they can walk. I know that if I keep trying, little by little I will grow in these other languages, just as I have grown in the English language.