Look me in the eye by Celina Zeppa https://padlet.com/czeppa1/xe6w6fmxh6zbv3d0 ISU en-us 2021-02-09 21:42:10 UTC 2025-11-13 13:55:49 UTC hello@padlet.com COMPARE czeppa1 https://padlet.com/czeppa1/xe6w6fmxh6zbv3d0/wish/1184830863 If the memoir look me in the eye was given a theme song to represent John Robinson's life best, Natasha Bedingfield's Unwritten is a perfect choice. Unlike most memoirs about one's struggles and disabilities; Robinson's book left its readers feeling inspired instead of sympathetic. After years spent wondering "what is wrong with me?" and time spent unsure why he became a "social deviant", at 35 John Robinson finally received a diagnosis of Asperger's, which disallows him to effectively engage with society. "Even my lifelong feeling that I was a fraud began to vanish"(Robinson 435). Living most of his life in shameful confusion, this diagnosis helped him understand nothing wrong with him to begin with and eventually learning to embrace his true self and release inhibitions. Likewise, the songstress seems to be doing the same thing.
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in. (Bedingfield 1:54).
The lyrics in Bedingfield's unwritten illustrates that every day is a new day, a blank slate and it is up to nobody but oneself to decide how they want to pursue it and ultimately, releases her own inhibitions. Furthermore, Both the artist and the author celebrate past failure and represent failing as the utmost version of success. Robinson's story is not an Asperger's awareness story, rather a glimpse into an individual's greatest success with all odds against him.


]]> 2021-02-09 21:47:34 UTC https://padlet.com/czeppa1/xe6w6fmxh6zbv3d0/wish/1184830863 Unwritten- Natasha Bedingfield czeppa1 https://padlet.com/czeppa1/xe6w6fmxh6zbv3d0/wish/1184840939 COMPARE]]> 2021-02-09 21:51:03 UTC https://padlet.com/czeppa1/xe6w6fmxh6zbv3d0/wish/1184840939 INVESTIGATE czeppa1 https://padlet.com/czeppa1/xe6w6fmxh6zbv3d0/wish/1184849551 Behind every individual's disability, there is a system of people who shame minorities because they cannot be "normal", but what is normal? Normality does not exist, although ideology does. That system of people is today's society who revokes individuals persevering against the autism spectrum and battling for equality daily. Look me in the eye is no how-to Aspergers manual, it's intention is not to teach someone's mother how to deal with it. However, it certainly is a real-life glimpse into the marginalization of individuals with disabilities which persists through generations. In a Washington post article a mother spoke out about her daughter with autism being verbally abused by her school bus driver and other school parents who presumed the child to have behavioural issues and continually attempted to get her removed, the mother added. 
"Kids with autism don't wear a sign around their necks, announcing, 'I am autistic.' Nevertheless, even if people cannot tell that a child is on the autism spectrum, judging and publicly berating parents is not helpful" (Domolaize, 2019).
Similarly, John Robertson experienced such treatment. "I don't want to be a genius or a freak or something on display" (Robinson, 431). From a young age he was deemed an outcast, not because he was cruel or ill-hearted but dismissed because ignorant and uneducated individuals misunderstood him. Society fails to deem individuals with autism able or adequate; their strain may route from their disabilities but grows from dismissal faced before them by society's "normal" ideology. Moreover, individuals on the spectrum face barriers that deny them equality and necessary equity based on a life circumstance they did not choose to make. Robertsons memoir exploits the truth behind societies failure to accept or understand anyone indifferent and connects to millions of individuals across the globe facing the same oppression. 
]]> 2021-02-09 21:54:05 UTC https://padlet.com/czeppa1/xe6w6fmxh6zbv3d0/wish/1184849551 Washington Post Articlce czeppa1 https://padlet.com/czeppa1/xe6w6fmxh6zbv3d0/wish/1184854166 INVESTIGATE]]> 2021-02-09 21:55:43 UTC https://padlet.com/czeppa1/xe6w6fmxh6zbv3d0/wish/1184854166 REFLECT II czeppa1 https://padlet.com/czeppa1/xe6w6fmxh6zbv3d0/wish/1184856029 While reading Look me in the eye, I realized I had never experienced a book I deeply connected to the way I connect to this memoir. I had a series of questions floating in my head, wondering how I connected to such a book if I was born with utmost privilege by simply being a white, healthy female in 2021. Through the multitude of questions that flooded my brain each chapter, there was one reigning question which stuck. Am I part of the problem? I wanted the answer to be no because I do consider myself an empath who advocates for everyone and does not hesitate to befriend people regardless of what others think, but that was the moment when I realized the answer is yes, maybe I am a part of the problem. I never will contribute to bullying or understand high school cliques and the status quos which surround them. I will never put anyone down for something beyond their control, but as Eldridge Cleaver once said "There is no more neutrality in the world. You either have to be part of the solution, or you're going to be part of the problem." In the grand scheme of things no, I am not contributing to society's neglect to understand the situations of others or in other words, ignorance."They thought I was weird".(Robinson, 150). Am I actively participating in the solution? Also no. I, among many others, will most likely never know what it takes to face the adversity of the world; so why is it okay for me to judg them. "Am I part of the problem?" is a question that I will carry close to my heart for years to come, will I ever know the answer? Probably not, what I do know is that although I will never truly understand or have the courage, it takes to have a disability, I have the courage to be a part of the solution.

]]> 2021-02-09 21:56:22 UTC https://padlet.com/czeppa1/xe6w6fmxh6zbv3d0/wish/1184856029 REFLECT I czeppa1 https://padlet.com/czeppa1/xe6w6fmxh6zbv3d0/wish/1184858470 John Robinson's memoir look me in the eye, impressed upon me in many different ways, and the concepts stay fresh in my mind many weeks post-reading. The memoir exposed what it means to have Aspergers and included shocking details that I had never heard of before. It was an eye-opening surprise to learn the way Robinson was treated realistically, was not his fault. "That was when I cried and hurt because I could not make friends" (Robinson, 316). I always knew being on the autism spectrum was very troubling on its lonesome, but others' ignorance shocked me. Society was fixated on his diagnoses rather than taking the time to understand his heart and mind each time someone put him down. I felt it was an honour to have read this memoir simply because I have never heard of such a human experiencing such pain and still achieve greater success than most "successful" people I know. It inspired me to persevere while simultaneously reminding me what success is not; measured by a net worth or materialistic goods but rather the ability to find what you love and strive for it, even when all bets are against you. It pains and angers me to know that parents worldwide fail to educate their children that quality of individuals is not measured by how well they understand math concepts or how quickly they pick up on a new skill. However, an individual's worth is based on the inside and the kindness in one's heart. It humbles me to know that although everyone experiences different things and is all unique, they feel emotion. Humility, laughter, love and loath are all worth something, and if I never stop and take a moment to feel, I can never lead a joyful life. 


]]> 2021-02-09 21:57:11 UTC https://padlet.com/czeppa1/xe6w6fmxh6zbv3d0/wish/1184858470 czeppa1 https://padlet.com/czeppa1/xe6w6fmxh6zbv3d0/wish/1184881198 2021-02-09 22:04:48 UTC https://padlet.com/czeppa1/xe6w6fmxh6zbv3d0/wish/1184881198 CREATE czeppa1 https://padlet.com/czeppa1/xe6w6fmxh6zbv3d0/wish/1184894704 "Air Canada Centre" August 2018]]> 2021-02-09 22:09:02 UTC https://padlet.com/czeppa1/xe6w6fmxh6zbv3d0/wish/1184894704 CREATE czeppa1 https://padlet.com/czeppa1/xe6w6fmxh6zbv3d0/wish/1184929529 This image was taken in 2018 at the formerly known Air Canada Centre; This image represents about 19,800 people gathered together to share a common interest for the night. Each individual is significantly different, and most of them will leave the concert, never knowing who was sitting beside them because they never took a minute to ask, or even say hello. Everybody at that concert was surrounded by thousands of others, but some people couldn’t help but feel alone. “I was so lonely” (Robinson, 169). Look me in the eye explores the idea of loneliness, throughout the memoir John Robinson was surrounded by people at school, at home and within the community but spent most of his life feeling self-isolated. The image and the memoir both depict a society filled with millions of unique humans who live very different lives, that will all experience the same feeling of loneliness inside. ]]> 2021-02-09 22:22:20 UTC https://padlet.com/czeppa1/xe6w6fmxh6zbv3d0/wish/1184929529