Where do we go from here?

I feel enlightened. Do you? I am sure that this class has opened the minds of many of the people who have been present throughout this semester. From discussions about health care to discussions about gay marriage, we have all probably heard viewpoints that differed from our own. We have all been forced to reevaluate or defend some point of view that we have held. We have been forced to think long and hard about issues that plague our society… issues that no one has really asked us to think about before.

We have discussed so many things theoretically in this class. Perhaps, this is the biggest problem and most significant complaint that I have had with this class. I am the type of person who hears something and wonders what I can do to change the status quo. While this class has forced me to think critically about gender and sexuality in our society, it has not told me what I can do personally to challenge these notions that are so prevalent in our society. I have often been left wondering: How do I go from the theoretical to the practical? How do I transform my thoughts into action? Do I go back to the status quo? Do I choose to continually accept the way things are? Where do I go from here?

Perhaps that is one of the greatest downfalls for our generation. We wait for other people to tell us what we should do. We wait for classes to tell us what our next steps should be. The class has done what it was supposed to do: it enlightened me. It is up to me to use this knowledge for the benefit of future generations. It is up to me to be unsatisfied with the way things are. It is up to me to decide that I can no longer dismiss the notions that I have been taught. This class has provided me with the ammunition to back up my claims. It is up to me to do the rest.