Living in a mostly white and conservative part of Long Island has sheltered me for most of my life. I wasn’t exposed to as many things as my friends were that grew up and went to school in Manhattan. My parents have always taught me to be accepting of all people especially since I’m mixed: Irish and Ecuadorean. In college, I had a major culture shock and I’ve grown to learn about many more cultures. I’m very fortunate to be in one of the greatest cities in the world and be able to learn from mostly impressive professors.

As someone who considers themselves a feminist, it made sense to enroll in a Sex and Gender Roles class. I wasn’t sure what I was getting into, but as the semester is coming close to its halfway point I looked back and realized how much this class has changed me. I didn’t think I was really going to learn much from the class but the readings and conversations have taught me a lot.

The readings vary in topic from women’s oppression, sexuality and masculinity in today’s society, to name a few. They leave me wanting more information and to learn more about each topic. In each class, we discuss the previous week's readings and even though not everyone agrees with the readings, they have opened my mind to everyone else's opinions. Before the class, I couldn’t understand how people could be so close-minded and would immediately dismiss their opinion. But after being in this class for the past seven weeks, I’ve learned about everyone’s opinions and the reasoning behind them.

The class has left me thinking a lot about the current situation we are in with Trump as our new president and most of the readings can relate back to this situation. One of our latest readings was on women’s oppression and how certain races are worse off. One situation, in particular, made me think about me and my sister. One of the girls was light-skinned and the other was darker but they were both of Hispanic descent. The darker one had a harder time with jobs and getting pulled over, but the lighter one was able to pass off as white which was considered to be better. In my situation, my sister is darker whereas when I tell people I’m Hispanic they question me and are in disbelief. When Trump first went into office, my grandmother warned my sister to bring her passport around with her so she can prove her residency and gave her other tips to help, but my grandma wasn’t worried about me having to prove myself. I’ve never gotten pulled to the side while my sister has been stopped for second security a handful of times.

This class has helped me understand the opinions of others and has taught me a better understanding of today’s situation. At the end of the recent readings they all had a similar point: instead of becoming divided we have to come together to help solve issues, which is exactly what we need right now. Coming together and fighting instead of dividing and falling apart.