Service Vacation Journal Entry _ Grace Herman

August 24th, 2020, 

Right now the world feels like it’s falling to pieces. The coronavirus pandemic has caused an unsettling destruction of everything from the economy to education. And through this destruction, the flaws in society have been highlighted and change is being demanded. It’s overwhelming and at times disheartening to look around at the world and it scares me. I struggle to figure out how I’m supposed to play a part in making it better because I want to help. I don’t want to just ignore it and walk through life with blinders. I am aware that I come from a lot of privilege. I have grown up in a white household where money has not been something I’ve had to worry about. I’ve lived a sheltered life and my struggles haven’t been defined by my race or my economic situation. With that in mind this summer I wanted to figure out how I could play a part in making the world better. I realized that the first step was to educate myself. I needed to educate myself on privilege and work to be more aware of mine. I needed to educate myself on the realities of others in different situations than mine. And I needed to learn how to move forward with these pieces of knowledge. 

A couple of actions I took to do this are the following:

I watched this series titled “Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man” where Emmanuel Acho and guests talked about everything from racial slurs, white privilege, police brutality, mixed families, etc. I was exposed to a different perspective and it taught me a lot. 

I also am writing my extended essay on how the sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine deals with societal issues one of them being racial profiling. While writing and researching this essay I learned a lot about the systemic oppression that is prevalent in the United States and about the many consequences it has on people of color. 

And honestly, I’ve learned a lot from social media. From posts that people repost or articles that are published, it has opened my eyes. 

I’ve learned a lot about race over the summer and will continue to educate myself as the year continues. 

In addition to educating myself around the racial inequalities and the systematic oppression that is common in the United States, I have learned about and discussed feminism with many people in my life over summer. 

I have realized through conversations with teenage boys in my life how much confusion there is around feminism. And with that, there is a lot of men who are unwilling to support the cause or support the “feminist” ideals of their female friends.

I believe that feminism means equality. When I say I’m a feminist it means that I want equal rights and opportunities for all genders. But there’s something about saying that you’re a feminist that immediately makes guys defensive. 

Because of this, I have gotten into fights with boys over what feminism is. This summer I’ve tried to have conversations about it. I decided that I would listen and learn about their perspective to try to understand what guys were really getting at when they say that “feminist ideals are getting shoved down their throats”. I’ve learned that the biggest enemy of equality is generalizations. Since discrimination, its self is built on generalization, for race and gender. But what’s happening is teenage boys are seeing posts that imply that all men are bad and that they should suffer for the oppression that womenkind has experienced. And no one wants that. They don’t want to be oppressed and so they are defensive, and then they generalize that that’s what all feminists want. They then think that when women’s rights and feminism are brought up and taught in school that we are also talking about punishing men. Which is just not true.

I’ve talked to my brother and some of his friends about this a lot over the summer. I’ve learned a lot about their perspective and have shared mine. And I’ve had some really powerful conversations and reached mutual understandings with males in my life. It’s been very educational and opened my mind and my eyes to different perspectives. 

I still haven’t figured out what my role in all of this is but here are some of my ideas: 

1. I can write about it. My extended essay is about racial profiling and sexual harassment. With it, I am educating myself and others that read it. 
2. I can continue to talk about these sensitive subjects with those around me. 
3. I can continue educating myself on societal issues to become knowledgeable and to have an educated perspective. 
4. As student body president I can figure out a way to foster these conversations within the student body. 

As the world seems to crumble this gives me hope. I have and will continue to learn about the issues that surround me and with that knowledge serve those around me through conversation, education, and action. 

Thank you for reading, 

Grace 

* Identify strengths and areas for growth, Engage with issues of global importance, Consider the ethical implications of your actions