Julia O’Hara, Period 1, 1/10/22

 Julia O’Hara

Period 1

Modern Mythology

1/10/22

What are your thoughts and feelings about issues of inequity, oppression, and/or power?

Inequity and oppression exist in many different forms, from a larger scale to a smaller scale.

This has greatly heightened in the last two years. With the start of the COVID-19 pandemic

came the magnified tension between certain groups of people. Some people felt the need to

take out their frustrations on others. They felt as if they needed to blame certain groups for what

was going on. If I had to guess, this was most likely an act of boredom from being quarantined

or something to make themselves feel better. These examples are something that we should not

just claim as “an act of boredom” and forget about them. They cannot be ignored. Whatever the

case is, something needs to be done in order to narrow the gap and close these many

examples of oppression. To me the answer is to take action to improve the lives of our

community members by becoming educated. Living in the informational age we exist in today

enables us access to knowledge. Whether it be through the web, a book, documentaries,

podcasts, contacting nonprofits, or speaking with each other, we will come to realize there are

many different avenues where we can learn to truly make a difference. Although someone will

always be in power and injustices can’t be avoided, we can do what we can in order to minimize

it.

How do you reflect critically on your own beliefs, assumptions, values, and experiences,

and how these can influence your perception of self and others?

I think it is safe to say that everyone has their own beliefs and stereotypes. Even if it is

not intentional, everyone’s upbringing allows them to form stereotypes on certain beliefs or

morals just because they are not what we are used to. I am always aware to not have a

negative view on someone else’s way of life because they may think that mine is different too.

Everyone has their own normal way of life even if it is not the same as yours.

One thing that I notice about myself is that I typically gravitate towards those who have

similar backgrounds to me; such as where we grew up or have the same culture. I most

definitely do not do this on purpose, I just feel as if I have the most in common and I am best

able to connect with these people. I am sure that other people feel the same way with me and

that they connect better with people more similar to them. But what I have reflected on is that it

is not a bad thing to not have stuff in common with people. I think more interesting

conversations can be had when sharing differences. Instead of everything being similar, with

someone different than you you can learn and try new things which will lead to new

experiences. Overall, it is very important to not have pre-deceived stereotypes. These

stereotypes may lead you to miss out on many interesting things to learn in life.