last presentations, reflections, & a see y'all later :)

     Wow, the end of the semester. I was actually pretty sad yesterday for our class to end, and let me tell you, I am usually happy for the last day of class. Before I go to my reflection of the class, I will first talk about the presentations this week.
     First, the presentation about the elderly really impacted me. In my other social work class, I had been working on a community needs assessment about the needs of the elderly in Austin. From doing my assessment i learned a lot about the needs of the population. But after the group presentation in class, I realized that all the staff at the agencies I interviewed did not mention the great need of social workers for this population. When I saw the video about the elderly being "forgotten", it made me so upset. But like this class taught me, there is no point in being upset if you're not going to do something about it. Now, after this presentation, I know that for field placement, i will look into agencies that serve the older population.
       The nontraditional students presentation affected me in a very different way. As I mentioned in class, my mother is now a nontraditional student. She is having so complete a Bachelor's degree after being a teacher for 25 years. Crazy right? Seeing this presentation made me feel so proud of my mom! Because I know that things are not that easy when you don't have your parents supporting you or when you have kids and a full time job to do besides school. I called her immediately after class to tell her I loved her and that i am so proud of her! So great job ladies! TNT will be a success :)
     Now, for the sad part. Where can I start. I wanted to express myself in class yesterday but we ran out of time. First of all, I would like to thank everyone for all of your sharing and of the support. This class has completely changed me! I was always shy to speak out in class. In the last three years of college, the only class I have ever raised my hand for was french, because I love the language and I love speaking it! But besides that, I always stayed quiet in class with out saying a thing. This class has given me the strength to speak out. I was able to express myself in front of others like never before. And even if I didn't get to speak in class for some reason, I always had the blogs to express myself. This class also taught me that I can make a different. Before this class, if I would've been asked to create and action plan for an issue, i would've done it but never follow it. But now that i look at the action plan for the low income high schools, I KNOW I CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN, I KNOW I CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. It makes me feel great to believe in myself and know I can make something like this happen.
     Thank you professor Gerstenblatt, for pushing us and taking out the best out of each and everyone of us. Thank you for all you have given us. You have given us the opportunity to go through a truly amazing journey that we will never forget.
     I look forward to seeing everyone next semester. Have a fun and safe summer and I will see y'all in the fall :)

Group Presentations

     The presentations this week were all so great!! I am not going to lie, I was a little scared to present because all of the presentations were so great! First of all, After Work Activism was truly inspiring. Being that I have to work and have barely any time to do activities or to make meetings at school, this program is amazing! There is so much to discuss about the issues that are affecting or country as well as our community. Being able to get together with others and discuss issues is such a stress relief. Not to mention the Miday Mimosas... Events like these can bring us all together and together we can make a difference.
     Project H was also amazing! The presentation was a little hard to see. But I love what Project H is doing. The most important part in this presentation to me was realized how much I could relate to it. As I mentioned in class, I was a victim of Hurricane Ike and was displaced. I few years before Ike, I volunteered at the Red cross to help victims from Hurricane Katrina that were displaced. Three years later, I was in the same position. Homelessness can be caused by so many factors, and there are so many victims. I am so glad they are doing the food drive.
     The Executive Order presentation was also a big shock. First of all, I thought I knew what an Executive order was. Now I know, I had no idea. Second of all, I thought you could find everything and anything on google. That was a big shock to me! It is important that we are aware of what this is since it is deeply involved with the social work profession. Great job guys!
    Lastly, my presentation. At the beginning of the year I thought, OH gosh another group project. Let me tell you guys, that has changed! After developing the action plan, I couldn't stop thinking about it and how much I really cared about the issue. I was a student at a low income high school. There are so many services that I wish I had but didn't. Luckily, I made it to this great institution. However, many of my friends didn't. Therefore, I am looking into putting forward the Suena program. I know that all of you guys will be very supportive when I need students to volunteer. I also know that the School of Social Work will help. I am really looking forward to doing this in the near future. So be on the lookout for it! I am really looking forward to the rest of the presentations!  

Woman, 76, crashes into Florida Market

Hey guys, I dont know if you guys saw this in the news yesterday. The link is below:

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/04/woman-76-crashes-car-into-florida-market-injures-10/

So after seeing this, right after the readings and discussions this week I was really angered. This is not the report I originally saw. I saw a report on tv where they were saying that her age was probably the cause of the accident, and a lot of people came on saying that the lady should not have been driving. All the comments were angering me. Who were those people to judge her and whether or not she should be driving. Honestly, the same thing happened to me when i was 16. I was parking my mom's car in the drive way and instead of pressing the break i pressed the gas. I completely destroyed my garage door and part of the house. Thats proof that age has nothing to do with it. Accidents happen. I was also surprised to see that they were actually being charged with careless driving. I just wonder if it were a younger person doing it, would they receive the same treatment?

Ageism and Adultism

       In class today we were able to share differnt experiences we have had with adultism. I had no idea what adultism was before class and before the readings. Talking to others in class and talking about my own experiences showed me that I have so much in common with so many people in class! We have all had similar experiences. What I saw as normal, now i see very differently. As a child I considered my mom treated me normally, like she was "suppose" too. Now i see that there are no rules to how a parent has to treat the child. These rules are all constructed by society. I even noticed myself treating children younger them me how I was taught to treat them. I know now I will be more careful in how I treat others and notice when people are treating others unfairly.
     The reading was really interesting. I have to admit I was really confused with adultism. I kept asking myself, "Is this bad? My mom did this. I do this. What is wrong with this?" This is proof that we are taught to act certain ways that seem normal to us. Another part of the reading that really caught my attention was the part about the police paying so much attention to younger kids, especially minorities. The stop them to question them and search them more often than anyone. All I could think of was the Trayvon Martin case. He was simply walking home with candy and a drink. And because he looked suspicious, he was murdered. The other part of the reading that really got to me was the discrimination against the elderly. I know that the elderly are discriminated so much but it just hurts me so much to see this! It was hard for me to read the section on elderly abuse. I just cant understand how the people that are the most knowledgeable amongst all are treated so badly!I also found it interesting to read the section on the cultures fear of growing old. I had no idea about this. In my opinion, I was always happy about growing old. Seeing how happy my grandparents are I always looked up to them and wanted to be like them. But now I see why we should be so scared. The older population is treated so badly I see why its scary. This is my area of interest so I know that I will try to make a difference. Growing old with so much experience should be a happy time to reflect on accomplishments, not to fear for abuse and discrimination.
     Although the readings were a little tough this week, it just makes me reflect on why I chose to become a social worker and why I want to make such a change and impact on people.

Ableism and Wasteland

          I will begin with my reflection on the reading. This reading was something very new to me. Until I came to UT and took social work classes, I realized that the term minority represented a lot more than race. Its crazy but I didn't even think of women being minority. After reading this article I learned so much! I always saw people with disabilities as normal human beings although I did wonder sometimes how they managed to get so far. When I got to UT, I came to admire so many students like those with physical disabilities who can't walk, see, or hear. Most people may think that because they cannot do some of the things we can, they are not capable of being successful. being here at UT shows you how equal and even stronger some people are even if they have a disability.
      One of the things that stood out to me the most in these readings was how as Americans, our basic rights have made us become very independent people. We can work where we want to, eat where we want to, and basically do anything we want to that doesn't hurt anybody else. But what about those who can't have their basic rights? What about those who do not choose to be dependent but are forced to? And especially the work issue. The book mentions that work is such an essential part to the American culture and it is true. My family in Mexico put family before work and have an amazing time but here, work goes before anything. So what happens to those people that struggle to work not because they don't want to but because they can't or because they don't let them?
     Another thing from the chapter that stood out to me was how a person's disability overshadows their gender and race. Whether they are men or women, black or white, if they are disabled, they are seen as just that. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was what finally gave them the minority status. For me, being a minority is more of a privilege. Not matter what people think of you and how they see you, it is about what you know you are capable of. This brings me back to the students with disabilities on campus. I look up to them, for fighting for what they believe and being so strong! When some people have a disability, feel discriminated, or for example get hurt at work and just give up, these college students are living proof that everything is possible. And that just because they have an impairment, they are not disabled, they can do the same, if not more, than those who have no impairments.
      As for Wasteland, wonderful movie! When it begun it was nothing like I would have expected. It turned out to be one of the greatest projects I have ever seen! I thought it was amazing that Vik Muniz could give so much back to his community and that although he didn't not help a huge amount of people, he helped people who were in desperate need. He helped people who wanted change, who wanted to truly help themselves. Seeing projects like this shows me that you do not have to have much to make a difference in people's lives, you simply have to believe in them and help them believe in themselves through empowerment. This was truly an amazing films that creates new goals for myself in my life :)

homophobia

    Both class and the readings for this week have been really interesting! Seeing that video Monday in class made me really upset. How is it possible that children are being terrorized at school when school is suppose to be such a safe environment? The worst part about it is that people throw the words faggot and gay around like nothing. It is not a word to play around with and they are words that can truly hurt someone.

    The readings for this week were filled with so much emotion! One of the common elements that I saw throughout the readings was fear. Fear by the family and fear by the gay community. One of the things that we do not realize is how much the family is affected by this. Whether they are supportive or not, they are struck by fear. Some fear that they will be treated differently because they have a family member that is different. Others fear for their family member. Knowing they are oppressed and hated by many, there is always fear tat something will happen to them. One of the readings in the book that shocked me the most was the one where bisexuals feared the rest of the gay community because they like both sexes. Now that I think about it, i understand the rest of the gay population would feel that bisexuals are being traders. But its not right. No one should be oppressed. We are all different. 

     Another part of the readings that I found really interesting was the questioning of why heterosexism exist? Who established it? I am Catholic so i know the story with Adam and Eve and everything. But would God really be as hateful as some people are towards the LGBT community? Nope. i don't think so. The book also said that the choices we make about our lifestyle are not personal, they are political. I found that highly interesting.

      I always like when the author adds lists to the readings and the list on this reading was really interesting. SOme of the things on there included how the heterosexual man is considered to be normal and healthy and not have AIDS or be asked to be tested for AIDS. Any heterosexual couple can be affectionate in public without fear of being criticized. They can also put pictures of their family up at work. A heterosexual person is not described as straight, yet a gay person is immediately called gay. One of the saddest points on that list was the one that it is easier for a child to say i have a mom and a dad  than 2 moms or 2 dads. Why can't it be accepted and the child not be hurt?

     I really do hope that one day, as a nation, we can learn to accept that everyone is different. I would hate to have to leave this earth and things still being how they are now. I know there must be something done. 

Feminism, Sexism, and Heterosexism

    The readings this week as well as the class discussions have all been really intense yet extremely helpful in understanding the problems we are still facing today. The beginning of the reading starts talking about feminism and about the wrong way we are compared to men. One of the most disturbing yet very true thing I read in the book was on chapter 70 with the comparisons. Some of them like the meeting with the boss, having a child, getting married, made me really angry. Why if a man and a woman do the same thing, the woman has to be looked at so bad? I want to be a lawyer one day and I know I'm going to be facing situations like this since this that is male dominated profession. It just makes me sad that i will be doing what I love to do and I am going to be emotionally suffering so much! Reading chapter 73 also made a great impact. "To stop violence, against women, women must stop violence against herself" I love this! A lot of us tend to look down on ourselves, abuse ourselves. We also attack other women in our life. It is very important to stay strong and stay together.
This video down here is one I came across. It shows the manly figure in disney movies. I love disney movies, I have been watching them all my life. But honestly I had never realized how sexist they are. They just make this manly figure so much! Especially Mulan OMG i can't believe I had not noticed. Anyways I leave it to you guys to watch.

     The last reading began talking about heterosexism and I can say that I learned something really important, the definition of the term, Heterosexism is the "overarching system of advantages bestowed on heterosexuals, based on the institutionalization of heterosexual norms or standards" and pretty much excludes everyone who is not. The reading them goes on to talk about oppression and religion. It is pretty obvious how much heterosexuality is superior to anything else. Its crazy that we are such a free country yet anyone who is not heterosexual is just seen as a bad person. I really think it is just something that will never change no matter how much we try. Its pretty much like asking for equality for women, we know that no matter how much we strive for it and fight for it, there will always be those who are will not let it happen...