There is so much from this quarter that I considered talking about but I wouldn't even know where to begin. I find that issues from this class come up frequently (anyone else find themselves wondering about adolescent brain development as this Duggar case develops? Just me then?) and I am excited to learn more about it going forward.
I think that one of the things that sticks out to me this quarter is the level of expectations kids have on them. Expectations from kids, expectations from parents, from the culture around them. It's a really heavy load to carry on top of everything they are already going through.
When we were doing the exercise that our Planned Parenthood speaker brought in, I found myself thinking about that a lot. How do we talk to kids (and to each other) about things that we are not comfortable with, or that we think should be held off on? What tools do we have, even those of us who really do believe in sex positivity and encouragement, to help someone deal with those challenging moments? How would teenage sexuality change if we were able to become more comfortable with the fact that it exists and it's okay? I definitely think this is a particularly long road ahead in this country, but hopefully we are slowly getting onto the right track.
I have really valued everyone's input and thoughts in this class. I know it's helped me recontextualize a lot of my own adolescence, as well as hopefully be a better friend and mentor to other people in my life. It's been a great ten weeks. :)
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