I Am What I Am

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I Am What I Am

• How a screwed up life produces a girl like me

By Kimberley Diane Dobbins
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Jacked up Stew

• Cherokee Indian- My family settled this area and
  Dobbins Air Force Base is named after my family
• Baptist roots- Dad is a preacher
• White American
• G.R.I.T.S.- Girl Raised In The South
• My immediate family 4 marriages total, 3
  Divorces, 5 children from 4 different marriages.
• Grew up in a mostly single-mom household.

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The Good The Bad

• Southerners are looked at as stupid or slow
• Perceived as innocent and out of the loop or
  in a bubble
• Others are quick to judge Christians as
  hypocrites
• Other races may see white people as a threat to
  their own freedoms or hate me because of my
  ancestors

• Hospitality Southerners tend to be more
  hospitable
• Southern Charm accepted well with others
• High Morals and a Strong Faith a stable person
  with integrity
• Most people are white so I am not usually judged
  according to my color

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Where it all started My Family

• Rednecks and Racism
• Lower to Mid Middle Class
• Rough childhood Abuse, alcohol, esteem issues,
  many marriages and divorces.
• I look for many types of attention and
  confirmation from males because of broken male
  relationships throughout my life from divorces
  and being abused. This affects my self esteem and
  my self-worth.
• The sins of the father are passed on to the
  third and fourth generations.

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Melting Pots and Such

• One of my best friends in High School was black
• Public School System all types of races
• Keefe Commissary Was the only white person at my
  job
• Dave and Busters 90 of my customers were black
• Kitchen staff at Joes is Mexican

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My Family says, Each to his own color.

• Dated a black guy Dad was ok with it, I couldnt
  tell my mom or grandparents. Friends of his that
  were black females didnt like me dating their
  men or taking their boys to the other side.
• My Great-grandmother, grew up during the 20s,
  cant understand why I would talk to those
  negroes.
• Proud Confederates, flag and all
• Family doesnt hate blacks or think slavery is
  good, they just think that each color should
  stay with their own.
• The N-word is generally acceptable

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Sins of my Generation

• Homosexuality is a sin. It is a choice.
• People are not born gay but with sinful desires
  of the flesh.
• I have worked with about 25 different gay people.
  I love them as a person. I hate their lifestyle.
• I dont agree with gay couples adopting or having
  civil unions or marriages.

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Give me a M Give me a S for Martha Stewart

• Girly Girl
• -Cooking -Cleaning -Making a Home
• -Decorating -Organizing and Planning
• -Taking care of others -Desire many children
• -Motherly instinct -Gossiper/Talkative -Very
  Emotional
• Male Traits
• -Love watching/playing sports -Very Blunt and
  Honest
• -Loud/Mouthy -Can be aggressive
• -Love the outdoors (camping) -Playing Poker

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Why I am the Way that I am

• My Faith
• -keeps me strong
• -gives me guidelines and instructions
• -gives me hope and a future
• -teaches me to love others as Christ loved me
• -sets the standards for right and wrong, I need
  not to guess what I need to do in a situation.

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Why I am the Way that I am

• 2. Family Upbringing
• -growing up with nothing makes me appreciate
  everything
• -was taught to be modest and to have high morals
• -my parents lack of education makes me strive
  for a degree
• -the mistakes of my parents show me exactly what
  NOT TO DO in my life and to avoid certain
  situations like having children out of wedlock
• -Because my parents became Christians when I was
  in elementary school, I see how a person can
  change for the better with Christ and how
  important God is to a family.
• -growing up poor gave me compassion for others
  that have nothing

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Do You See What I See?

• When I look at me I see
• Overweight -Gossiper
• I talk too much -Life is out of Control
• Dramatic -Not very confident
• Smart -Responsible
• Ive screwed up too much to be someone that
  someone else would want.

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What are you looking at?

• I think others see me as
• Loud -Crazy
• Responsible -Dramatic
• Smart -Too grown up for my age
• My parents see me as
• their perfect child.
• My siblings see me as
• their example.

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My opinion counts right?

• I am judgmental about others even though I might
  not express it.
• Men deserve respect as men. Men and women have
  their places in society. Women should never be
  president or ministers. God put men as the head
  of the household and women are the helpmate.
  Women can work but should also be the main person
  taking care of the children and the household.
• I see people for who they really are. I can see
  right through your fakeness and read you like a
  book.
• I am always very aware where I rank in order
  compared to the other girls in the room.
• Guys are better friends than girls.
• I trust most people and forgive everything
  usually.

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And the Verdict is

• I have little tolerance for the reverse-racism
  that is happening in America. I dont think that
  color is factor that determines a persons
  status, intelligence, or worth. I can imagine
  that I will have little patience for people who
  give color as an excuse for their short-comings
  as a student. I dont have time for people who
  feel like I owe them something for the crimes of
  my ancestors. I can only speak for myself. I do
  not judge a person according to their color,
  therefore I should not be judged according to my
  color. You define who you are in life and what
  you can or cannot be. Your race is just your
  appearance and leave it at that.

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Verdict 2

• Because I grew up poor, I have this burning
  desire to help students who have a bad home life.
  For me, school was a safe haven and my teachers
  made me who I am today. They showed me that a
  person can be poor and still be smart and that
  not everyone who has money is intelligent. I want
  to be that teacher. I want my students who may
  not get a chance at home to be someone important
  to know that at least one person in this world
  thinks that they are very important. This changes
  lives.

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So there you have it I am what I am and thats
all I can be.