Shirley Mei, Period 7, 1/7/22

 Shirley Mei Period 7 1/7/2021

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

As a society, we always take for granted what we have access to that others may not.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, some countries were more fortunate than others to have

access to vaccines, medical supplies and more. Countries that lacked these sufficient supplies

were left with little to no help to sustain themselves. As we saw in India where the country

needed 200-250 million vaccinations per month to fight Covid but only received 70-80 million

vaccination doses. This left many people susceptible to severe symptoms upon contracting

COVID-19. Countries like the United States and the United Kingdom which are more developed

countries were much more prepared for the outbreaks. We had more access to hospital

capacities, vaccine doses, and ventilators. This made me realize how fortunate to be in a country

with more developed technology and better access to health support. However, I also realized

how immoral the world is as well, how being in another country may make you more vulnerable.

With the lack of basic healthcare and necessities, you may struggle simply lacking what another

country may be rich of. It is important that we all learn to value what we have and also to note

how we can help others in need as well. While it may be on a small scale, we can all check our

privilege sometimes to have access to basic necessities.

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

these can influence your perception of self and others?

Growing up in an Asian American household where my parents were both immigrants

from another country, I have challenged my own assumptions on affection. While my parents

spent long hours working, I could not spend much time with them. As I watched other families

go out, I craved the same attention from my parents. I would question their “love” as they did

not show it in conditional ways like other families. However, it did not mean that they loved me

any less. They would spend hours working to help support our family and to help provide. This

made me come to the realization as I got older that they still love me just as any parents would.

This influenced my perception of myself as I realized love comes in a multitude of forms and

cannot be seen in one specific way. It can exist through a person’s actions and dedication to one

another.