Topic Reflection

          When trying to decide what to write about for my semester project, I thought about the topics I have always wanted to learn more about, but have never taken the time to research. I narrowed my list down to three: mediums, dreams, and male birth control. They are all very different from each other and each has its own set of pros and cons. In addition, each topic would require a different method of research, different sources, and the final product would appeal to different audiences.

            My first topic of choice is mediums. Mediums are people who act as a channel between the living and the dead. When people who have died wish to pass on a message to someone who is alive, they can communicate with a medium to get their message through. There have been television shows created surrounding this topic such as Long Island Medium and Hollywood Medium with Tyler Henry; mediums have become much more popular in the past few years. Many people believe that the television shows are fake and that mediums are just putting on a show to make money. However, there are hundreds of testimonies from people who have interacted with mediums and believe that what they do is real.

            If I were to choose this topic for my semester project, I would base the final product largely around the testimonies. Personally, I believe that mediums are not faking what they do; I would take the side of those who believe in them. I have never interacted with a medium before, but my mother has. She contacted a medium a little while after her father passed away. She believed that the medium really did come in contact with her father because the medium was able to tell my mother something that she had only ever shared with her father. The messages she then received from her father helped her deal with his passing. Many others like my mother reach out to mediums when they have difficulties overcoming the death of someone close to them. Some people share their stories, and they are inspiring. Whether mediums are real or fake, they help people who are having difficulties get the closure they need to move forward with their lives and stop dwelling on the past. I think that is a wonderful thing.

            I think the positive aspects of this topic are the stories from people who believe and have been helped. Each person has a unique experience. However, the topic may be difficult to write about because there would not be many facts. The only pieces of evidence are the connections mediums make with the people they are talking to. When mediums sense a presence, they can let the living person know who they are sensing and connect with them somehow. It could be through a name, a number, a symbol, or other things of that nature. These connections are usually something that the medium would not usually be able to just guess, and this is the main way that people know that the mediums are not faking it. Even still, those connections are not facts. While I could research and write about all of the positive experiences people have had with mediums, that would not be enough to prove they are real.

If I were to choose mediums as my topic, I would be entering the conversation within the community of mediums, those who believe, and those who do not. I would explain what mediums are, how they came to be, and what they can do for others. I would address that there are people who do not believe and why. Though large, the community would be clear and the topic would be interesting. Although, I am not sure that I would be able to properly back up my argument with enough factual evidence.

            My second option is to write about dreams. It is true that everyone dreams, but not everyone remembers their dreams when they wake up. Why is that? Are dreams random, or do they have meaning? What do they mean? These are questions that I would be addressing if I chose this topic. This is another option that would be very fun and interesting to write about. I have always wondered if my dreams had meaning. I love having conversations with my friends and family about my dreams and theirs and what they could possibly mean. There are theories about what certain things in dreams mean, but I find it hard to believe that these are always true for everyone. I have also wondered why we forget most of our dreams soon after we wake up. There are dreams that I have had in the past that I can still remember to this day, but others I forget minutes after I wake up.

            I am worried that this topic would be too broad. There is not a very specific discourse community I could direct all of my research towards because everyone has dreams. If I just focused on the meanings behind the things we dream about I could enter into the conversation in the community of dream analysts. I think I would run into a similar problem as with mediums, though. There is no proof that what a dream analyst is saying is true. I could focus on the scientific side of dreams and discuss why dreams occur and why we forget them when we wake up. I know that dreams only occur in a certain phase of sleep. If I were to focus on this, I could direct my research towards a more scientific community.

            There is also the idea of lucid dreaming. If I wanted to stay within the topic of dreams, researching lucid dreaming would be a more specific option. Lucid dreaming is when a person starts to dream and physically knows they are dreaming, so they can control what happens in their dreams. This is a very interesting concept that I heard about just recently. If I chose this branch of dreaming, I could enter the discourse community of those who lucid dream. Similar to the research I would do if I chose mediums, I could include testimonials in my research. I think the majority of details I would find would come from personal stories.

            I am very interested in dreams. There are many different ways I could go if I were to write about dreams. I would obviously need to narrow it down and get more specific if I were to choose this topic. I am just worried that if I narrow it down too far, I will not have enough evidence and facts to produce reliable work. I think it would be entertaining to learn and write about, but it might not be practical enough. I am also worried that there would not be much of an argument with a topic like this. It would be challenging to find a topic in this category that would be up for debate. I would need to choose an argument to be able to pick a side and back it up.

            The last topic I am considering for my semester project is male birth control. This topic is much different from the other two. In heterosexual relationships, women are usually the ones using contraceptives whether it be the pill, the patch, the ring, sponges, female condoms, shots, or implants. For men there are only condoms. If there are condoms for both females and males, there should be more of the other types of contraceptives for males. Female forms of birth control have various side effects that can be very serious. I think men should have more options than just condoms.

            If I am not mistaken, medical professionals have recently started working on a pill that reduces sperm in male ejaculate. I was very excited when I saw a video about this. However, when I sent the video I saw to my boyfriend to see what he thought, he immediately shot it down. He said he would not take that pill even though he has said in the past that I should take birth control pills. This leads me to the social stigma. There is definitely a stigma in society revolving around birth control for men. It just assumed that women are the ones who are “supposed” to be on the pill. Men can wear condoms, but even when they do, they are not always the ones purchasing them or supplying them. It is stereotypically to be considered an awkward conversation between partners, but it shouldn’t be. Birth control itself seems to be a taboo subject which seems odd to me because sex is an intimate act. If people are comfortable enough to be having sex, they should not be uncomfortable with different forms of birth control.

            I think one of the biggest problems is the side effects that come with using a birth control pill. Women experience many side effects that men would not be as familiar with. Many women are used to strange hormonal changes happening to them on a monthly basis when they experience PMS and menstruation. Men are not used to these effects so it would, stereotypically, be hard for them to accept a birth control pill that has such strong effects.

I think male birth control could become a more popular product in the future once it becomes more common, and I support that. With the big feminist movement that has been going on recently, it is exciting to know that this would be another step closer to equality. I am concerned that if I were to write about this topic, it would be a little biased because I am a female; I wouldn’t want to come across as being sexist. It would also be hard to nail down a specific community. I think “those using contraceptives” covers too many people. I know there would be a lot of factual evidence on the subject, but it is not as fun and entertaining as my other options.

To decide on a topic for this paper, I need to get more specific. I have three broad ideas, so I need to narrow them down to see which ones would really work for me. Completing my semester project on mediums would be entertaining, but there is little factual evidence. The topic of dreams is just as entertaining and a little more practical, but it is too broad; I have to choose a subtopic. Lastly, I could write about male birth control which seems to be the most practical, but it is not as entertaining. I need to find the perfect topic that will have a discourse community I can become a part of. It is crucial that I can back my argument up with facts, and keep it entertaining at the same time.