okay so i have officially decided to become a blogger!...and i have realized over time that im really bad at sending out mass emails...but really good at journaling my thoughts..so i figured a blog could be a good thing for me..and for all those people that are dying to live vicariously through me..haha!...so for those of you that dont know...i spent my last quarter at the UW studying abroad in Mexico! The heat was rather bearable and the classes were phenomenal!..i learned soo much about myself this past quarter..we studied the concept of racism and identity and our classes consisted of numerous discussions which truly made me challenge my previous way of thinking...heres an email that i sent out to some people...maybe my roommates i think?..just demonstrates the HEAVY material I was dealing with this past quarter...makes me question soo many things---------------------
life is different here...soo much love and laughter...and classes are amazing..erin as i was sitting in class today i thought..erin would LOVE this..we were talking about racism and how soo many white people dont even realize that there is racism in the world....they dont even realize how privileged they are...and when i went with hong and mnauel up to the monument we were talking about racism, and it was here that I fully recognized my white privilege for the first time ever really..and just told them that if i didnt get a job or something..i would never once think it was because of my race...i would just think its because im not qualified or what not..but for them..its completely different…Hong is Vietnamese-Chinese and Manuel is half Mexican..just opens my eyes to soo many things and makes me realize that as a white american i have like all these benefits and privileges in my pocket..in a knapsack...i just go about my life and don’t really have to struggle or prove myself with anything...and hearing their own experiences with racism, hongs and manuels that is..made me realize just how real it truly is....TODAY not 50 years ago..but TODAY...but the racism nowadays is not as obvious..its much more hidden..and yes African Americans may be given the same opportunities as everyone else...but there are limitations on those opportunities and obstacles that are in the way..sooo very interesting...love my classes...watching the best movies and we have the best discussions and it makes me think about my own ethnicity and how my grandma moved here and tried to rid of her accent and her heritage and her cultural history and my dad doesn’t even know Spanish...and we lost that part of ourselves...we lost that part of our heritage..and its a terrible thing..only because my grandma was trying to be like everyone else..and trying to assimilate..and trying to forget about that part of herself..and all for what?? society and the racial hierarchy we have here..or what?? because that’s not fair...in the midst of it..she lost herself...or maybe she didn’t lose herself..but she was hiding and masking one of the best parts of her.. sorry i blabbed on for hours..just some thoughts going through my head...these are the things we think about...and the people here challenge my way of thinking..they challenge the status quo and question why it is important to us to fit in..who are we trying to become and for what?? okay enough is enough...