Privilege

Here are some items from my "invisible nap-sack." I tried to not use all the obvious examples the Author wrote.

1. I can easily find people that are willing to help me advance professionally through connections.

2. I can go into any local c-store and expect to find any hair/makeup products that will work for me.

3. When I go to meetings, church, or other gatherings I can guess that I will be in the majority.

4. When I watch a movie I can expect to see people of my own race widely represented.

5. Because of my privilege, this is the first time I have had to consider about my privileges versus disadvantages.

6. I can go shopping without having a store clerk follow me to make sure I am not shoplifting.

7. I can swear, procrastinate, or delay to answer people without other assuming it is due to my education or laziness.

8. I can use various/different forms of payment without people questioning my financial responsibility.

9. When interviewing for a job, I can expect the boss or the person interviewing me to most likely be the same color as me.

10. In a discussion about race and ethnicity, I'm never asked to be a spokesperson for my entire race.

11. I can be late to a meeting, class, etc. without it reflecting poorly on my race.

12. I can own nice/expensive things without people suspecting anything.

13.  If I get pulled over I can assume it is due to a traffic violation instead of suspicion from the cop.

14. I can choose where I want to live, and be sure that the schools in that area will meet my expectations.

15. Others can assume that I am pursuing a college education. Upon graduating high school people asked "what college are you going to?" instead of "what are you doing after high school?"

16. When I get upset or frustrated it is not attributed to a character of my race.

17. I can expect to find directions/signs/commercials to be in my language.

18. I can travel without fear that I will be harassed/looked upon suspiciously.

5 Items That Represent My Culture

This post was hard for me to choose what 5 items represent my culture versus wanting to choose 5 items that represent me because I think I am slightly different than the culture I come from.

1. Paintbrush-I come from a family that likes the visual arts. I have a very creative family that consists of painters, graphic designers, photographers, and the like. My family is more talented in visual arts rather than being talented musically. I have painted every since I was in the third grade and my medium of choice is oils. Being in the business school was a weird transition for me in college because I was used to having a balance for education and creativity in high school. Fortunately after my junior year I got the opportunity to study abroad in Italy and take an oil painting class. I hadn't been in a studio environment in so long it was a great reminder to start painting again.

2. Bible- Christianity played a big role in my culture growing up and in my current culture in Austin. Going to camp with church or Young Life is a more common thing than not. I myself am a follower of Christ and because of that I choose to live my life as Jesus taught. I find this more as a life of freedom because of His teaching not a path set before me of rules to follow, which unfortunately many people perceive of the church. So I would say I have been in circles of both simply hearers and then radical doers of the Word whom have influenced me.

3. Family picture-There is a big gap between my sisters and myself. My sisters are 12 and 11 years older than I, so our family has grown in numbers over the past few years. I have 5 nieces and 1 nephew, 5 of which are age 3 or under. Going home is always entertaining because my family loves sharing meals together and being close. One of my sisters has two sets of twins so there is always need for a helping hand. This part of my background has undoubtedly shaped me in many ways.

4. OU football tee-Growing up I wasn't athletic myself but my sister played soccer throughout college at OU. My parents grew up in Oklahoma and my father almost played football at OU, but he was injured his senior year. We always had season tickets to OU football games, so I remember driving up for games whether it be football or my sister's soccer games. Thus, it has made it hard for me to fully have school spirit for UT because of the team I grew up rooting for. I think that part of my culture has made my college experience different than it would have been had I gone somewhere else.

5. Country club tee- This is one of the five items I was hesitant to say because I do not want it to be confused with a descriptor of my character. Nonetheless, I grew up in a community that is mostly upper-middle class so material items or being a member of the "club" was expected from most people I was surrounded by. Growing up in this environment has been a huge blessing because I have had the opportunity to do things I otherwise wouldn't have had, but it also has its disadvantages. Regardless, it played a role in the way I was raised.

About Me

I am a senior majoring in marketing and I am also in the Bridging Disciplines Program for my Social Entrepreneurship and Nonprofits certificate. I am currently starting a business, where a part of what we do includes going to Uganda to teach kids/students fine arts. We believe that poverty can be fought with creativity, so we seek to provide the tools and resources for children to continue and be encouraged in their creative outlets. If things work as planned, I will be working in Uganda and other developing communities. Thus, this class seemed relevant to the route I wish to take, and will help me respectfully learn about and engage with a developing community (whether it be in Uganda or anywhere else the wind blows me).