Journeys<\/a> is a semester-long course accompanied by a week-long trip to a location outside of America. For my Journeys trip, I went to Cuba to learn about nature, race, and medicine, though every course focused on overarching themes of globalization, identity, colonialism, diaspora, and the ethics of travel. These overarching themes were the things that stuck with me the most.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nOne of the things I found most interesting to learn about on the trip was religion. We learned about Santer\u00eda, a religion that stemmed from the diaspora of African people who practiced Yoruba. Many of the oricha (Santer\u00eda\u2019s spirits or deities) had equivalent patron saints, which, as was explained to us by our guide, reinforces the ideas of unity. To Santarians, the differences between Santer\u00eda and Catholicism weren\u2019t what was important, the similarities were. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This idea of similarity and unity spanned to various aspects of the culture, including race and nationality. In Cuba, they don\u2019t have the same focus on race as we do in the United States. Instead of being identified by the color of one\u2019s skin or the curlyness of one\u2019s hair, everyone there was just Cuban. I wanted to be able to have more of a conversation with the locals about these ideas while simultaneously learning about my own curly hair, but there wasn\u2019t enough time in our agenda. I nonetheless want to carry with me an outlook that focuses on my similarity to others rather than my differences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
SCALE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
SCALE (Sophomore Class Atlanta Leadership Experience) was a week long externship in which students shadow and learn from professionals in organizations around Atlanta. I worked with Charis Books and More, one of the oldest independent feminist bookstores in the South, and the nonprofit program Charis Circle. The whole experience made me incredibly appreciative of feminists throughout all of history and sparked more hope about the future. One of the most impactful parts of this experience was seeing LGBTQ+, specifically trans folks, in the workforce. Representation is always something I believe is important, but I was surprised at how hard it hit me to see someone like me with a normal life and a fulfilling career. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What does it mean to be educated at a women’s college?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Agnes Scott is an inclusive women\u2019s college, accepting not only women, but all people of marginalized genders. This space has allowed me to develop academic rigor, strength, conviction, and a sense of community. It has also allowed me to see myself, a biracial trans person, represented in the student body, as well as meet others from many different backgrounds. Being in a space that prioritizes diversity and inclusion temporarily lifts some of the weight of living in a white, male-dominated, cishet society off of the shoulders of marginalized groups, allowing focus on really learning and growing. <\/strong>As someone who has struggled with anxiety and finding my voice, I especially appreciate how Agnes Scott has cultivated a community where I have space to speak and find confidence. Being surrounded by other people like me where I am not spoken over or disrespected has shown me that my voice matters. Looking back at the person I was when I started college, I can say that I have much more strength and conviction than I did back then. <\/p>\n\n\n\nLooking Back<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
These few paragraphs by no means capture all that I have learned and experienced, but I hope it gives you an idea of how I value learning and growth. As with any college experience, there have been good moments and bad moments, but I appreciate everything that I was able to engage with because of Agnes Scott. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you would like to learn more about some of the specific projects I’ve done, please take a look at the schoolwork<\/a> category on this website. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been difficult to write this \u2013 to explain four years worth of experiences in just one block of text \u2013 but it\u2019s also shown me how much I\u2019ve learned and grown since my first year. At Agnes Scott, I\u2019ve been able to experience courses and activities that have helped me gain knowledge both inside […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-schoolwork"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativeportfolio.org\/alyna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativeportfolio.org\/alyna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativeportfolio.org\/alyna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativeportfolio.org\/alyna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativeportfolio.org\/alyna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/creativeportfolio.org\/alyna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":407,"href":"https:\/\/creativeportfolio.org\/alyna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406\/revisions\/407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativeportfolio.org\/alyna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativeportfolio.org\/alyna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativeportfolio.org\/alyna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}