Belonging: Indigenous Australians and Sense

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You are to write a speechto present at a conference titled "Perceptions of Belonging." Your speech should discuss HOW Peter Skrzynecki and another composer explore the following statement: "To feel a sense of belonging, you need to accept yourself and be accepted by others." Refer to TWO Skrzynecki poems and ONE of the related texts from your portfolio. What is the meaning to belong? One’s perception of belonging may vary throughout their lifetime. Though generally, to belong is to be accepted and to develop a sense of satisfaction, security and stability through a variety of ways within one’s life. In contrast to not belong is to be experiencing a sense of rejection, alienation and isolation. A sense of belonging usually emerges from the connections and relationships made with people, identity, places and the larger world. It is these concepts of belonging that build the foundations, and influence the search for the meaning in life, and ultimately where individuals belong. Overcoming the adversity one faces in life of not belonging may be one of the greatest challenges a person may face, but sometimes after continual and perseverance attempting to overcome this adversity, it becomes apparent that one may have to accept themselves and achieve an acceptance from others around them. The two poems found in ‘Immigrant Chronicles’, ‘St Patrick’s College’ and ‘Felix Skrzynecki’ by Peter Skrzynecki, and Kevin Rudd’s well known ‘Apology Speech’, which can be seen on the multimedia link of the Sydney Morning Herald, are all exemplary of one accepting themselves to be accepted by others. Skrzynecki within ‘St Patrick’s College’ reflectively attempts to distil past experience to make sense of the present. Using subtle language but ironic imagery, Skrzynecki paints a rather bleak portrait of his school life. Motivated by false social climbing values, his mother has made sacrifices in order for him to get ahead, ‘What was best’. At the end of the poem he questions whether it...
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