Image #1As I reflect over the last few weeks, I see that I have learned so many topics in such a short amount of time, but how could I possibly cover all of the material we learned in one blog. Therefore, I am going to choose three which were interesting to me or applied to my life. These are going to be campus involvement, white privilege, and inclusion through the eyes of immigrants. These topics were just some of the many we discussed, but I am going to speak on them because they affected my view of myself and the world around me!
Campus involvement was something which we talked about at the very beginning of the year, and it stuck out to me as something which I needed to commit myself to doing. I realized that this would be one of the best ways to make the transition to college because it allows you to meet new people and to just have fun in order to take your mind off things. In my week 1 blog, Campus Engagement, I said, "This week we learned about the different ways we can get involved on our college campus. We came up with several different ways including attending sporting events, playing intramural sports, taking advantage of the campus resources, and getting a part time job." I learned of different places I could get involved, and I did the majority of these things. For instance, I played intramural flag football, got a job at the RAC, and went to several GSU football games. It was also cool to hear all of the ways that my classmates were getting involved. For instance, Alicia also spoke about her involvement in intramural sports in her week 1 blog post saying, "I, personally, have found that I enjoy playing intramural ultimate frisbee and can already see how many connections and friendships the sport has afforded me, and it's only been a week." This just proved the fact that getting involved is essential to making friendships and connections with others. I am glad that we discussed this early on because if we didn't I might not have gotten involved as soon!
Image #2The second item I want to discuss is white privilege. Honestly, before this semester I had no idea what white privilege really was. I had heard it before, but I never truly understood what it meant. Because of this, I used to think that white privilege was just an excuse that some people made. I thought this way because I didn't think that I was anymore privileged than the people around me because of being white. However, I began to learn and understand what it truly is and what it means through our class discussions and Crucet's speech. Enysa stated this in her week 9 blog, "However, its important to realize that that is how people of color feel on an everyday basis. From a young age, there were many times my mom told me that there were some things I could not do because of being a person of color. It was important for me to be especially quiet and and respectful as a child because to not be would mean to be perpetuating a stereotype. When Eboni broke down explaining how she worries for her brothers because of stereotyping, I really felt for her." This really made the concept of white privilege sink in, and it showed me what it really is. It is the privilege of not being stereotyped based on my race or how I look. It really just made me sad to think that people live there entire life being judged by the color of their skin and that is such a shame in my eyes. In my Make your Home Among Strangers blog I said, "By this she was pointing out that whites are privileged because they have the ability to be independent but others are known by their race or ethnicity." Therefore, I learned that white privilege is inherently real and that I benefit from it without even knowing I do.Learning this made me want to look at the world differently, in a way where there are no colors and all people are truly equal, and I pray that one day we will get to that point! Overall, this was important to learn because it opened my eyes to things I hadn't known before.
Image #3I also learned a lot of information about the topic of inclusion especially from the perspective of immigrants. When we watched the film, Which Way Home, all I can remember thinking about was how young the kids were when they began their journey to America. In my week 5 blog, Immigration, I said this, "Kevin was 14 and he wanted to go to America so he could support his mother and to escape his unloving step-dad. Fito wanted to get to America to make a way for himself and to escape his parents who spent their time at parties. Others cross hoping to be reconnected with family members who have already made it over such as Jose who was only 10 and was trying to cross. To me it is just really sad to see how young these kids are often left without their parents." This showed me just how young kids are when they become independent. The thought of me being without my parents at the age of 10 is ridiculous to me, but it shows how much people look up to America. They see it as a nation full of opportunity, and they will do almost anything in order to get there. For example, we learned about the train that thousands of immigrants ride towards America called The Beast. This ride is dangerous though, and many people have lost their lives while attempting to make the journey. I learned more than just their journey to America though, I also learned the role they play within America. In my week 6 blog, Diversity and Inclusion, I learned about the role immigrants play in the city of LA. Here is what I found, " I watched a video created by Define America titled What would LA be like without immigrants? This video revealed that one out of every three people would disappear. Not only that but it would be hard to find any food to eat because 76 percent of agriculture workers in the area are immigrants." This was such a powerful video because it showed how big of an impact that is made by immigrants. The fact that blows me away the most is that 76% of agriculture workers are immigrants. That is a huge part of America, and it would be completely transformed without the immigrants to help work in the area. Therefore, I learned that immigrants are important to our county in many ways that we can only begin to discuss. It was interesting to learn and explore deeper into this topic.
Image #4Overall, I really enjoyed getting to know everyone this semester. It was interesting to hear all of our conversations and ideas about the subjects which we covered and I will miss this class next semester. I wish everyone the best of luck with finals net week, and I know you will do great! Have a merry Christmas and enjoy your time off as well!
