I'm thankful for all my friends right now. I walked out of the library, blowing away in the gusts of frigid wind, but I had something to look forward to: a beautifully lit up Christmas tree celebrating a joy that gives people life greeting me through the window and friends who cheer when I walk through the door. I'm cheesy and probably always will be. I had nice, cozy blankets to curl up in and a guy to share them with. I get to share a piece of my heart to people I love because they give me theirs. Now, I have a stained glass heart fitted with lots of different colors of people's love .
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It's actually a pretty clear memory for me... sitting down at a school assembly and talking about the word "tolerance." I was kind of appalled. Why would authority figures get up and tell us that we just need to tolerate our peers, not like them, but simply tolerate them.
I was naïve. You can't like everyone. Plus, I was fortunate to grow up in a household that valued other people's opinions. There are students out there who do not know that believing or identifying differently themselves is okay. Teaching tolerance isn't easy. There are thin boundaries. But, allyship really does start with identities. Allyship starts in educational settings, if we let it. I think the author of "Teaching Tolerance" had an imperative point to bring to the table. Just by looking a certain way, students can choose whether to trust an individual or not. Being white might mean to them that you don't know what it's like to be them and that's just one example. Forming a relationship with students will help erase these boundaries. Then, the content of tolerance can go far deeper and wider. If I had to pick one of the main life lessons I've learning while at Colorado State University, I would have to say that everyone has multiple identities. Previously, I talked about the importance of including multiple intelligences and now I want to talk about the importance of multiple identities. I'm not just a student. I'm not just a blonde white person. My friend isn't just a Latina girl. My friend isn't just a sister. We are a marbled mold of lots of different experiences. Yes, even my future students aren't just one identity. Have you ever taken one of those personality tests? At the end they might say, "You are _________. This serves you well in the way that ___________. This is a disadvantage for you if _________." Ultimately, your own strengths have the ability to transform into weaknesses. I feel that Keith Edwards had a similar point to make. His "Aspiring Social Justice Ally Identity Development" article was an interesting read. Edwards talked about how there are various motivations for breaking down oppression.
The general makeup of each ally can be good, but read into it a little more and you see the cracks going right through it. This is cliché, but I believe that I was a little bit of each ally. There was: aspiring ally for self-interest, altruism, and social justice. Of course, the social justice ally is the most effective and moral. But, in the end, I can't put aside the fact that it feels good to have equitable motives in mind, thus the self-interest in me. There is minor guilt in my privilege, bringing out the altruistic side of my allyship with others. However, I value all walks of life and I can't change how I grew up. Lastly, I feel as though I have the potential to be rooted in social justice because I see "the interconnectedness of forms of oppression supporting each other" and I recognize the "need to address intersecting forms." |
Greetings!I'm Kelly! I like to find beauty in what might seem mundane to us over time and bring to life what we experience each day. Check out the About Me tab for an additional look at who I am. Archives
July 2019
Taking an image, freezing a moment, reveals how rich reality truly is. |