The mission of Loyola is to serve others. Service learning is a big part of that. There are so many people and places in the community around us that could benefit greatly from students help. It is also just as beneficial for the student because it is a great opportunity and it feels great knowing that you are helping. 
This semester I will be doing service with Tunbridge Elementary School. While I haven't started yet I have been lucky enough that as an elementary education major I have been able to do service in other schools through field work. I know how rewarding it can be for both the teachers and me. Having an extra hand to help in the classroom can make a big difference. I have picked this school hoping that I can get more experience in schools, but also because I think it is extra beneficial to work with students of young ages. Last semester I was in a pre-k classroom and four year olds can be quite rowdy. One time that I was in the classroom one of the students was quite upset because he could not write his sentence as well as the kid sitting next to him. I was able to calm him down and help his to construct the sentence letter by letter. In that moment I didn't realize how important that was. It wasn't until the later weeks that I realized that in that moment I had formed a unique connection with that student. 
In this book Phil Kaye talks about how his parents got divorced when he was quite young. I don't remember myself much when I was that young, but I was able to experience that age when I was in the Pre-K classroom. In the story Kaye talks about how he has a different relationship with each of his grandfathers because they are experiencing different things. Kaye realizes that his American grandfather was one of the soldiers that was sent to destroy his Japanese grandfathers home. Kayes entire family has conflicting relationships with each other, but that seems to be what bonds them. The Japanese side of him and the jewish side of him have both experienced discrimination at some point in history. While at first glance it may seem like this pair could never work, in a way it makes sense. These two sides can understand each other even if they don't make that connection at first. Their language is very different but their pasts connect them. 
Also in the pre-k classroom that I was in last semester was a little girl who didn't speak english. When I started helping in the classroom at the beginning of the year she would not be able to follow directions because she could not understand what was being asked of her. Her classmates also weren't really sure how to interact with her. By one of the last weeks that I was there, the little girl was able to pick up the basics of what she needed to do as well as she was able to play with the other kids as if there was never a time where this wasn't possible.
This connects to the first part of the book where Kayes mother would speak Japanese to him when he was little. When this little girl would be picked up at the end of the day, her mother would be speaking spanish to her. Unlike in the story their traditions stayed in tact. While the language barrier can be a hard thing to over come, it is important to know and to appreciate where you come from. In the story Kaye realized how important that was when at holidays with family his grandmother was upset to find out that Kaye's younger sister did not know Japanese. Being different should be encouraged, not frowned upon. 

Date & Time #1

Blog #1

From the backbone of this Understanding Literature class, I have came to the comprehension of what it takes to partake in this engagement. This originated from what I came to realize what it means to be enrolled in a Jesuit university. By being engaged in this community, a Jesuit education tells me that there is more to life than just education and jobs, but having loving and enduring relationships along that ride. While this is held to be true, students at this institution strive to be great outside of the classroom. Considering that I have previous experience with this kind of education where I attended Loyola Academy in Illinois, the teachings of both schools have further inspired me to take in what it truly means to have a Jesuit education. Acceptance is also a key attribute that aligns with what the Jesuits vouch for, and is one that Phil Kaye experiences through his life.

Phil Kaye had a rough upbringing due to the fact that he came from a diverse family that was a Japanese Jewish background. This made things challenging for him where people around him would judge him based on unknown knowledge. He took this into account and it just went on to fuel his energy to the writings and wisdom he brought to poetry. He was heavily inspired by the connections that he found in his life that were interrupted by the complications of society stemming from family and friend disconnections. Although he went on to become one of the most wealthiest poets to come out of California, to this day if I were him, I would still have a feeling of loss. 

In the second part of the book, the poem I felt deep compassion for was Depression. This was a short poem that expressed Kayes’ emotions toward depression where he woke up in the morning feeling down. In this he personified the depression as if it was a companion. This companion followed him throughout the morning tending up his bodily parts to the point where they adjust and became senseless. This feeling that he felt was harsh in that his feelings of depression were apparent and hurt him to the point where he was hopeless to do anything about it. Overall, from the poems I read about people and things around him, this brought it all together by showing how greatly it all affected him and how it shaped his emotions. Phil Kaye was hurt as a kid, and by looks of it things would be different if he had the education and people around him that serve in the Jesuit education like the one at Loyola.

Date and Time and Zen Meditation

Date and Time and Zen Meditation

Living in Puerto Rico, I knew little about the world and its diversity. Diversity was something that there wasn't much to talk about or know about. After moving to the United States and I started my first year at Loyola University. I found that there was a world far beyond what I knew. For the first time, I was exposed to different races, languages, religions, and genders. I felt lost. So, I decided to explore a bit of everything. Trying to find a place to "fit in" but with some limits, and one of them was not to explore Zen Meditation. I think was because the idea of being an hour and a half with my self was scary enough in comparison with the benefice. But this semester and with the Understanding Literature class as the main excuse, I forced myself to take the step. I changed my work schedule and arrived that Tuesday at 5:30 pm. There I was, totally out of my comfort zone, but totally ready to start.

I really can't say that something exciting or shocking happened, because the reality is that we were sitting almost an hour and a half looking at the floor. But I can say that maybe I found my place and wonderful things that happened while I was looking at the floor. I was with the world, but without the noise of the world. There were about 40 people, people with whom I never spoke and who at the same time I felt more present than many people whom I speak day today. During that hour and a half, it was me with me. No Internet, no social networks, no messages. It was me with my past, it was me with my frustrations, achievements, and desires. For the first time in a long time, I sat down to talk with me. Leaving each layer of me aside, looking between those cracked walls and closed doors. Looking for that little girl who had been forgotten. That girl is no longer a girl but does not know that yet. For the first time, I saw her in the face and just stayed to listen to her. We don't talk about the past; we don't talk about the future; We only talk about the present. It was amazing how much I had lost; how much I had forgotten. For a moment everything had stopped, and it was just her and me, so alike, but so different. Sharing the same body but forgetting the existence of the other and at the same time the existence of the world. For the first time in a long time, I paused my brain and enjoyed the simplicity of breathing.

And basically, it is what happens in the last poem of the second third of Date and Time by Phil Kaye entitled "The appreciation meditation." In this poem, you can see how Kaye connects with the world, beyond the phones and the working world, and gives thanks for the simple things in life, while at the same time extending an invitation to do the same. We see how he gives thanks for the good and for the bad. Because both have helped him grow as a person. In this poem, the word "Whoa" is used at the beginning of each stanza. With this, he is telling us to stop, stop thinking, look at what is in front of you and be grateful that it is there. It is something that I found curious because while we were in the hour and a half of meditation the person who was leading us began the section by crashing two pieces of wood, which caused a loud noise, but for me was an invitation to wake up from that busy life and give you space just for you. It is interesting how things become part of a background in our life, we are so focused on our problems, tasks, and jobs that we really forget to live. So, going through the experience of opening up to myself and moving away from everything to focus on the simplicity of life, it is something that I regret not having tried before and it is something I want to cultivate. Because right now I'm not living, I'm just existing.

Date and Time

Many individuals in this world struggle with finding a sense of comfort or community in their lives.  Being a Jesuit school, Loyola works to create a community where all people can feel at home and loved.  Before enrolling at Loyola, I attended a Catholic Basilian High School that put a large emphasis on brotherhood and acceptance.  These values are some of the most important things to have when growing into a young adult.  I believe that going through that kind of environment in high school truly prepared for all aspects of life coming forward.  In the short time I've been at this college I have notice that drastic differences from and other state college that most of my classmates went on to attend.  The Messina program at Loyola is a fantastic example of the emphasis put on family and acceptance.  From the first day of school you are placed with multiple other students with your same interests in order to create a sense of belonging and to help students make their first friends in college.  Phil Kaye in Date and Time, created poems to explain the situations he endured growing up.  He was Japanese and Jewish which, at the time, was extremely hard to understand for most people.  He faced large amounts of discrimination in school and struggled to find that sense of brotherhood and comfortability that Loyola and other Jesuit schools make sure to offer.

The first part of Date and Time focused on presenting the struggles that Phil went through in the early stages of life.  One of his poems explains to the readers how because he grew up in a primarily Japanese environment, Phil had trouble understanding English in school.  Not being able to converse fluently with other classmates created a feeling of loss and separation in him.  Issues like these are precisely what Jesuit institutions try to prevent through service work and a sense of community.  I have only lived in Baltimore for a short time so I have not had a chance to become involved with much service work, however, back in high school, I was involved in much mission and service work which helped me get to know others who were outsiders to me.  For example, my homeroom collected canned food for about a month and drove around the city of Detroit delivering food to those who needed it.  Taking on uncomfortable and new situations such as this helped me to become closer with people in school that I normally would not have spoken with.  Group events like these would have been a drastic help to Phil Kaye during his childhood to help him make friends and understand the problems of the world at a deeper level.

In the second part of Date and Time, the poem Ruby's stood out to me.  In this poem, Phil talks about an old restaurant that was his absolute favorite place to go to eat.  He mentions how a hostess remembers him by name which really caught my attention.  Phil's restaurant, Ruby's, symbolized that place of comfort that he never found in school.  A place where the people there remember your name and know you better than most.  This restaurant is what Phil wishes his school life was like.  He wishes that he had a community or group of friends that new his name and his life, and most importantly, made him feel at home.  These are the specific values that Loyola tries so hard to provide as a Jesuit institution.  If Phil Kaye had access to places such as Loyola as a kid, chances are he would not have had to deal with the struggles he speaks about through his poems.

Date and Time — Service Learning

            As I begin my path for service learning this semester, I will be attending Walter P Carter Elementary / Middle School to help the students who need additional support, as I did last semester. I will be working in the PIEL program (Prevention and Intervention for Early Learners) , which offers additional language acquisition assistance to those students who are struggling to keep up with their peers in this classroom. In the past semester, I interacted with some students who were in the third grade, yet reading at a first grade reading level. Therefore, the need for this program is imperative as it helps strengthen the phonics skills of each student. My position at the school was to pull out one to three students at a time and work with them on their required needs for about twenty minutes. Small groups were grouped together based on their academic ability, not necessarily their age or grade level. The PIEL program was put in place to due to the high amounts of illiteracy present in the school. Oftentimes, this illiteracy comes from a lack of support at home, frequent attendance issues, or simply being “pushed under the rug” throughout their time at school resulting in being very behind in class. Over 90% of the school is also in the FARMS program (Free and Reduced Meals), therefore they often come from lower socioeconomic classes, which can directly result in the amount of support and opportunities they have at home. Many students come from broken homes, with divorced parents or other family dynamics that directly translate into them as individuals and their performance at school. 

            In the book, Date and Time by Phil Kaye, the author dives deep into the relationships present throughout the novel. Kaye describes how he grew up with his parents and watched them love one another, but one day it all changed when they decided to get a divorce. Kaye’s life experiences with his parents directly relates to the experiences that the students at Walter P Carter experience within their families. They watch some of their parents grow up with one another, but then break apart as their parents no longer love one another. Furthermore, Kaye reflects on his past relationships and the rejection and worthlessness he felt as he continued to experience rejection, the feeling that the students often feel regarding their home and academic life. When the students are struggling and are experiencing a lack of support, they often feel that same kind of worthlessness that Kaye felt in his past relationships.  

My experience last semester truly opened my eyes to another part of the community that I had not yet explored. I met some of the sweetest children, some of those who had been through so much at a young age. That connection between broken homes and the feelings of rejection and worthlessness can be draw between Kaye’s novel and the students present at Walter P Carter as they share similar experiences throughout their life. 

            The use of service learning at Loyola is an excellent way for students to learn outside of the classroom. The experiences and lessons drawn from participating in service learning are aspects that one cannot learn in the typical classroom setting. The only way to truly understand and experience the lessons drawn from participating in service is to simply get out into the community. Loyola does an excellent job of encouraging students to participate and engage in their community, as it becomes and eye opening experience for all who are involved . 

Date and Time, Service Learning

Cordy Albanese

Dr. Ellis

EN-101

29 Jan 2020

Blog Post #1

            As I am beginning the process of my Service-Learning, the path I have chosen is to attend a weekly 2-hour session with the Bridges Program. I have picked this program to enhance my involvement with the Baltimore community as well as help younger peers receive the academic help in the areas they seek. As I am preparing for this commitment to the community and program, I have analyzed different expectations and challenges within myself as I take on this role. I am hoping to not only make an impact on the peers academically but to also build a meaningful connection with them. I want them to feel as though they have bonded with a college-level student and can gain knowledge and experience with these weekly interactions. I expect to not only benefit them in many ways but to also benefit from them as well. I want my interactions with them to bring me a sense of joy and community, as well as to gain the learning experience of working with kids because that will be my future career. I think it will challenge me to think outside of the box as I am helping these kids as well as challenge my abilities to understand the material myself and what the session means to me. I am hoping to further build my connection not only within the Loyola community but also within the Baltimore community and local schools especially. I am hoping this experience will give me the tools I need to be a better peer, educator, and friend. Service-learning is an important aspect to Loyola Maryland and myself as I further my education. My outlook for this service-learning path is very positive and brings me the excitement that I hope will be fulfilled once I begin my sessions. 

The second third of Date and Time has thirteen separate poems inside. Many of the poems describe what I assume is the author Phil Kaye’s childhood memories. He talks specifically about his struggles with growth in the poem Strength, In Four Parts. His friend called his legs puny and another girl states he is basically a skeleton. Growth whether physical, mental, or spiritual in all aspects of being human. I think the barriers Kaye goes through are similar to the challenges many young adults face. In working with these kids in my service learning I may be able to extend a hand or be an extra set of ears to listen if they have similar struggles to Kaye. Facing challenges described in Kaye’s poems such as depression and self-doubt can make a person feel isolated and lonely at times which can then lead to an academic decline or struggle to thrive socially. I am hoping my role as a mentor/tutor will bring a positive light into their life if they struggle with any of these barriers. I want them to be able to express any help or concerns they may have to me as we grow closer over the semester. The last poem in the second half of Kaye’s book is titled The Appreciation Meditation. This poem states different things Kaye is thankful for in everyday life, even the small things. This helped me to see the meaning behind my service-learning path and how this experience and opportunity is something to be thankful for. Throughout Kaye’s book, he writes about many different things that he has experienced from childhood to adulthood. As a young adult, I myself can relate to some of these discussion topics and struggles that Kaye talks about. All human beings face challenges they must overcome. I think this is important to talk about so people, especially teenagers, who are going through many different changes and may not know that it is normal or that they can reach out for help through hard times. This third of the book was very interesting to me and helped me make connections between the topics discussed, myself, and my service-learning path I have chosen. 

Date & Time (2/3)

 When applying for this university I had no prior knowledge of what a Jesuit was, I didn’t even know the word. After being accepted into the university I still had no idea what a Jesuit was or how to be one. After almost two years of being at this university, I now feel I have a much better grasp on what it means to be at Jesuit institution receiving that type of education. To me being a part of a Jesuit community means to be accepting of diverse appearances, backgrounds, and ideologies while also serving the community in a way that not only betters the whole but also the self. A Jesuit community is accepting of whoever may wish to join as long as they participate in their manner. If someone has felt as if they were left behind or that they don’t fit in, joining this type of community is the first step to reclaiming what you believe you have lost or gaining something you never had. This distinct location also plays a distinct role in the fabric of its character. Being in Baltimore, the school is surrounded by one of the most diverse populations in the country, giving its members a great opportunity to learn about the experiences of others from different walks of life. 

Phil Kaye in Date and Time, cornicles his experiences in various different fashions to express his struggle with his acceptance in the community, and his acceptance with himself. In multiple of the poems he writes, Phil Kaye discusses feeling out of touch to his contemporaries and his surroundings. He discusses that his peculiar family background has placed him in adverse positions at various different points in his life. Kaye is of both Japanese and Jewish descent, a combination that would cause many bewildered faces. Kaye details how he can still recount receiving conflicting looks from strangers simply walking along with his parents. Not being a member a what some would consider the “normal” American family placed Phil at odds with both himself and his peers from the very early years of his life. Being a part of a community like the one we have here at school would have been of great benefit to Phil as a young child. In our community, he would have seen that there is no “normal” look for a family and that the differences that he sees between himself and the rest of the folks around him are what contribute most to who he is and his individuality. 

In the second third of the book, Kaye dives into further detail on his feeling of acceptance. In the poem, Apparition, Phil tells us about someone who he was forced to consider a friend turned and stabbed him in the back. A friend that his parents were fonder of than him, Phil was left spending time with someone who didn’t accept him for who he was and even used it against him. A day a lunch while Phil and his friend were hovering around waiting to be accepted to a new friend group when his so-called “friend” decided that Phil was no longer necessary. His friend stabbed him in the back cracking inappropriate jokes at his expense leading to his acceptance in the new group and Phil’s continued embarrassment. This encounter continued to reaffirm much of the lack of attachment Kaye felt over the course of his whole life. Once again he was left by someone for the sake of someone or something better simply for acting and being the way he only knows how, himself. After almost two years at this university, I have never seen or experienced any form of behavior remotely close to the type endured by Kaye in his tenure at school. Such behavior would not be prevalent or accepted by a Jesuit institution or community and those who chose to participate would most likely be asked to leave. The foundation of a Jesuit community is the acceptance and love for the differences that define our individuality and our appreciation and respect of those differences. Phil Kaye throughout most of his young life did not have such a community to turn to, so illustrating to us his experiences in these forms to show his readers of what he did to cope with his differences and conflicts, and how they may learn to cope as well.

Date & Time and Service

The service event I decided to participate in this semester is Tunbridge Service-Learning, which I had the privilege to participate in last semester as well. Something I admired throughout my experience was that the environment at Tunbridge promotes the mental and physical health of each student. I found that this connects directly to the core values of Loyola’s Jesuit education, specifically its focus on the “whole person.” On Loyola’s Core Values webpage, it states “Loyola manifests its effort to honor, care for, and educate the whole person by encouraging its constituents to strive after intellectual, physical, psychological, social, and spiritual health and well-being.” In this regard, Tunbridge and Loyola have a similar goal in how to successfully educate and prepare their students to be influential people in our world. 

Service-learning is a perfect example of how Loyola educates the whole person, for it requires students to get out into the Baltimore community to learn from the people they serve. Being able to connect these experiences to class discussions helps students to think about the bigger picture through connection real-world experiences to the themes and topics in the course. In addition to this, service helps students gain the ability to work with various people and situations. Specifically, at Tunbridge Service-learning, students interact with people of all ages such as teachers, secretaries, and the students. Loyola promotes diversity by encouraging students to be open to new experiences and perspectives which also can be achieved through service. At Tunbridge, there is much to be learned and appreciated by interacting with the people who work and attend school there. Even the most simple things, like helping a student understand a math concept or completing tedious tasks for a teacher, can teach a valuable lesson. Every act of service makes an impact on others. 

In our Understanding Literature class, we are currently reading the book titled Date & Time by Phil Kaye, a Jewish and Japenese American poet. Kaye’s purpose for writing this book was to share his own experiences with his identity and how he has come to accept it and appreciate it. I feel as though Kaye focuses many of his poems on perception, specifically how others may perceive him and his family. Since his father is Jewish and his mother is Japanese, their family’s culture seems unique to most of the people around him in America. I personally feel as though this idea Kaye presents connects to Loyola’s efforts to break stereotypes, specifically the stereotypes of our community in Baltimore. Through encouraging students to take service-learning courses that require service events like Tunbridge, the Bridges Program, Refugee Youth Project, and Soccer Without Borders, Loyola exposes its students to various different situations and areas in Baltimore that have negative stereotypes in the public eye. 

From my experience at Tunbridge Public Charter School last semester, it is evident that the message Kaye communicates in his writing about self-acceptance is also actively communicated by the staff at Tunbridge. The teachers do not just simply provide students with information about the core subjects of math, English, science, and history. They make sure that each student feels valued and respected by offering positive affirmations and participating in activities unrelated to the school subjects. Personally, I think that self-love and appreciation for your differences is extremely important to learn at a young age so that these students can grow up to positively impact the world. I am thrilled to be returning to Tunbridge Public Charter School this semester. I know that while I will be benefitting those who I am serving, I also will be gaining so much knowledge from my experiences with them.

Jesuit education, Date and Time, Service

              I have only been a student at Loyola University for one semester, and yet I have already felt the importance of the Jesuit education tradition at this school. The unique culture of the Jesuit education brings the students at Loyola acceptance, diversity, community, justice, and service. These five central values are what made me excited to be attending this University. Since my first day on campus, I felt how important it was to this school to make this University a place where the student felt as though they were in a community and felt a sense of belonging. I also noticed how the school stresses the importance of traveling around Baltimore to do service and to become a part of the diverse community of the city.
             To me, the five parts of the Jesuit school are important because I feel like at most universities’ students feel lonely and feel like they are on a journey by themselves. I think this happens at other Universities because students feel like they don’t know anyone at the school, and they feel separated from the ones they love. I think this is a familiar feeling that many students feel and that Phil Kaye perfectly writes about in his poetry book, Date and Time. In the second third of the book, there is a big overlapping theme of feeling lonely, distant, and unexcepted. Phil does this by describing personal stories through poetry.
             In the second third of the book, Phil talks about how he feels unexcepted by society because he was skinny and week. He brings up how he felt that he needed to “crave” the pain that would make him stronger. In several other poems in this section, you see how the author felt that he didn’t belong because his friends would make fun of him for their benefit. For example, when he was younger, he had a friend joke about him so he would be able to site at the popular table, leaving Phil to sit himself feeling unexcepted. Even in one poem of this section, he writes about the distance in his family when his mom decides not to go on his family trip. Reading all this made me feel bad for the author, yet glad that I am at a University that does everything in its power to make sure their students don’t feel that way.
             As I get into my second semester at thins school, I am excited to be doing a travel assignment that will force me to get off the school’s grounds and immerse me in Baltimore’s community. I will be going on a bus to a museum to experience an exhibit. During this trip, I will be able to experience the city as a part of the city’s community by traveling on a bus and seeing the many neighborhoods that I don’t get to see as a student. I feel like doing this assignment will make me feel apart of the city’s community and will hopefully make this new city feel more like home.

Service, Date and Time

  In the almost two years that I have been a student I have learned that a big aspect of the Jesuit education is diversity and the importance of accepting those who differ from you. They want everyone to feel welcome and that they play an important part in the student population, no matter where they are from or their background. Baltimore is such a diverse city, and we as students from Loyola who may not be from a town with much diversity are so fortunate to have the opportunity to experience this community. Because Baltimore is home to people of many different backgrounds, people who live here might not get the feeling that they are different or that they don’t belong. In the book Date and Time, Kaye starts the book off by saying that his family was embarrassed of their mixed backgrounds and conformed to society by putting their traditions and culture away. Their community was obviously not very open to accepting the fact that they were a mixed family, and the stress and embarrassment eventually led to the demise of his family. Kaye expresses his desire to be able to embrace his culture. It brings up the question if Kaye had grown up in a city like Baltimore, would his family have been proud of their mixed cultures and be excited to pass down traditions to Kaye and his sister. 

  

  I am an elementary education major, and in the course of the four semesters that I have been taking education classes, I have had the opportunity to go to two different schools in Baltimore and observe classes. At the first school I observed, which was Gwynns Falls Elementary, the demographic of students is 99% African American. Although I did observe some diversity in a sense that this was a new environment for me, I did not experience much diversity amongst the students. Most of these kids have a similar background and their home environment is the same, so they all could relate to each other. It was a great experience for me because teaching is really a passion for me, and I’ve known this since I was very little. That is why I chose Bridges for my service track. I want to be able to help students in whatever way I can and give them a resource to succeed in their academics, just as I did. I’m excited to be able to work with a variety of students, because every student excels or struggles in different subjects. Their learning styles are different too, do I am excited to try out different ways to help them.

Date and Time

So far in my time at Loyola, I have been exposed to Jesuit education and have developed a better understanding as to what that is, more precisely. From what I have gathered, Jesuit values are about acceptance, diversity, community, justice, and service. I have always heard great things about Jesuit traditions and that reputation was a key part of my choosing to attend a Jesuit institution. Being in Baltimore, we are more exposed to diverse settings and some of the shortcomings which follow. Unfortunately, however, I think it is hard for many people to completely understand the challenges of feeling, "out of place," in society purely on the basis of how you were born without having truly experienced it, first-hand.

 Phil Kaye in Date and Time provides insight into those distinct feelings of rejection and being disconnected. He is of mixed race as his mother Japanese and his father is Jewish. He specifically writes about the first time that he realized that he was different from the "typical" American family. This “typical” image seems to be viewed as a white, same race family. His Jewish father was speaking to him in perfect Japanese and a woman looked at them as though they were crazy because, to her, that was quite obscure. As a result, he became embarrassed of who he was as he watched his parents seemingly ashamed. This made Kaye realize how truly out of place he feels in society due to racial standards and the impacts of traditionality.

The second third of Date and Time by Phil Kaye gives even more perspective into Kaye's life and his deep-rooted insecurities. He gives insight as to what specific life instances caused these insecurities. These instances such as, thoughtless bullying by peers and girls that he wanted, as well as feeling out of place with his family and his mixed culture.  He seems to be documenting every life event or profound feeling he has experienced in order to connect fully with readers. This could be an attempt to show the pain and hopelessness he has felt. It is clear that Kaye is opening all of his wounds out on these pages in order to be vulnerable to his audience. Perhaps, he is using this vulnerability in order to open the eyes of his viewers. If they can feel his pain on this personal level, then they could possibly be more empathetic and later, more accepting.

         Jesuits are viewed as those who value diversity and acceptance. Through my short time at Loyola, and in a Jesuit education system, I would have to agree with that reputation. I have had the privilege of having a Jesuit priest as my Theology professor this semester. In hearing him speak, I can see how much he cares about reforming the ideas that people of Catholic backgrounds are not accepting. He wants to make a difference and he believes in equality, in all forms. Although this is just one person, I have no other reason to doubt that most Jesuits believe this due to what I have seen from Loyola. Kaye’s words in Date and Time would be admired by Jesuits as I believe it is a tool towards a more accepting and loving society.