SCOM 248 IN REVIEW
This past semester in SCOM 248, Intercultural Communications opened my eyes to a lot of ideas concerning culture. Mostly, this class forced me to recognize all of the different ways that this world and, even more specifically, this society is divided. It made me more aware of the hierarchy of power and the way power is used in everyday communication—and how this power is unfair. Similarly, I was also shown the way my white privilege is used in my everyday life without me being aware. This privilege makes it so that I can live my life every day without facing any of the struggles that people of color face simply because they are people of color. Altogether, all of the material showed me how so much of who we are and the lives we lead are all determined by chance—our race, our gender, our socioeconomic class are all examples of things that we are born into, but they set the stage of the life that we will live forever.
Right now, having just finished up the last of materials, I feel a sense of being overwhelmed. It’s overwhelming how much I learned about myself and how much I need to change and also the saying that my privilege may be making things harder for people of color. However, it’s a good overwhelming. It’s the kind of overwhelming that makes me face the fact that I need to learn more and that I need to make changes. To juxtapose that, I’m also feeling, sort of excited, or more prepared to make changes that I either didn’t know I needed to make or knew I needed to make but wasn’t sure how. It’s strange to feel both overwhelmed and prepared at the same time, but it’s driving me.
I’m excited to see the changes I end up making. For me, my biggest priority is not falling into my white silence. I let my comfort in saying nothing override my desire for change, and this process and current events showed me that that is not okay, and it can’t continue. The commitments I hope to make moving forward are as follows:
I will speak up against my family when they are staying offensive things to or about people of color. I need to do this because someone needs to educate them and end the themes of racism in that county.
I will be more purposeful with my words and my actions. I won’t just say something; I will follow it up with a concreate action.
I will be more willing to accept when I am wrong and apologize and use this as a learning opportunity.