Personal Narrative: My Sixth Learning Experiences

Several things have struck me as powerful lessons in the six weeks since I first entered this class. Though I have always known that I had experienced privilege throughout my life, I never realized how truly engrained that was in me until writing the first assignment. During that experience, I struggled with identifying ways that my heritage had impacted my development and approached it from more of an internal standpoint rather than an environmental one. Sitting in class and listening to my classmates’ experiences, I was struck by how much different their lives have been in comparison to mine. Being able to put myself in their shoes even for a moment was a much-appreciated exercise in empathy. This is an example of our sixth learning objective:

The last time I had watched that movie was in high school, and though it affected me in some ways many years ago, it served as more of a learning experience this time – especially when paired with the discussion. As a teenager, I watched it, immediately deemed everyone racists, and put in the next movie. While discussing the movie during class, I was struck by how much empathy was had for everyone involved. Kneejerk reactions do not affect meaningful change; only by understanding the dynamics of human behavior can we identify the true issues and work toward solutions. Additionally, hearing what other people picked up on as examples of prejudice, discrimination, and the other categories were enlightening because they picked up on things that I otherwise would not have

Though today I consider myself a feminist, it took several years for me to be able to say that without feeling the need to simultaneously defend my beliefs. There was always a stigma about feminists that I always worried about incurring, but as I have gotten older I worry less about that stigma and more about the issues that we face. With that being said, I greatly enjoyed the lecture that dissected practice with women, especially considering the frequency with which our agencies serve their needs. Off the Streets is a program that I work with as a graduate assistant, and I loved that the video was shown in class. Too often this population gets overlooked, as the issue of human trafficking is less glamourous than other, more visible ones in our area. Though I understand that some may choose sex work, the reality is that most of those women have suffered abuse and addiction, which left them vulnerable to traffickers. Additionally, the risks posed to those women daily is much higher than average, which makes this an issue that needs addressed by our society in some capacity. Working with that organization requires a high degree of trust, as many of the women involved with that program have had their trust broken numerous times and are very protective of each other. In order to work with this population I have to “demonstrate skills for ethical