The reflections unit was all about answering this main question:
“Who am I?”
It is meant for each person in the class to stop and look at themselves carefully, to become self aware and see ourselves as who we really are. In this, were had to make two separate pieces, along with an audio recording.
The first was a perspective piece, which was a page of writing, a rant, about something that we are personally very passionate about.
I chose the more adult topic of sex/sexuality, as I feel that this topic is either mostly avoided or looked down upon, which wrongly encourages misinformation and can be damaging to physical/mental health and prevent positive experiences in too many people’s lives. I believe that this can be fixed with open-mindedness, communication, and willingness to share and learn. It can also help people know more about, and in some cases, heal from bad experiences, and be able to give and find better ones.
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This was my perspective writing piece:
Sexual Education
So, sex. Sexuality. And, private bits in general.
Not the most comfortable topics, but for what good reason?
Sexual preferences options, health, and information is vital for absolutely everyone.
But the fact that we are all so grossed out or ashamed of it makes it that much easier for the wrong kind of information to spread, much like an STD.
So, why don’t we talk about it more? Let’s see some of the ways we could tackle this problem.
If you’re ashamed, you can always go online or even just look around at the different varieties of sexualities, opinions, and the experiences of others, to show that you aren’ alone in your feelings. And, if we discuss it, you’ll be able to gain knowledge and comfort with the topic and yourself.
If you aren’t interested in sex in general? You don’t need to know as much if you don’t want to, but it’s still good to know about sexual health (meaning, reproductive system, maybe gender, and especially private bits), and maybe you can dig in deeper for the information that you feel that a close friend or two would want and need?
If you are uncomfortable, or if some past experiences or thoughts make it unpleasant to even mention, maybe you can (gently and slowly!) gain the knowledge you need from the right people to recover or become comfortable. And even so, that doesn’t mean you ever have to engage in sexual acts if you don’t want to. It simply means that the information could be important for your health and good for your friends (who are interested) to know.
But the next step, which also has an obstacle, is; to find the right information.
Almost every single article that comes up on the front page of google for anything sex, gender or physical health-related is either said unclearly, is missing info, or is just straight up incorrect.
The first step we need to take, however, is to find awareness, help confidence in ourselves and others, make sure to maintain boundaries and comfort, and, most of all,
Talk about it.
There is so much I could say about this one wide and complex topic, but, I’l have to stop here for now.
I’m Max Tan, and this is my oddly specific perspective.
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The next assignment was supposed to be posting and recording the personal essay, which was a shared story, experience, and/or express your thoughts and feelings on your life.
However, I felt as though my essay was.. Too personal to post online. Thankfully, we had the option to put in a different piece of writing that we made in place of it.
So, I put in a story I wrote. It still has a more personal reason and inspiration, but with indirect writing to make it more fictional and fantasy-like.
Here is my story:
The Princess and The Robot
There were two kingdoms at war.
In one of those kingdoms, there was a princess.
There was a disagreement, people wanted her dead, and now she was to be protected at all costs.
Because of this, she was hardly ever allowed to go outside, for fear of the dangers of the war.
This upset her greatly. Not because she couldn’t leave, but because she was the cause of all this. She wanted so much to just talk with and ease the people…
But, she stayed inside the tall, barricaded castle, as everyone else drowned amidst the chaos.
As they loudly, blindly, gave themselves to a stupid, self-made cause with no meaning, she remained. Reading, learning,
Hoping.
Hoping for someone to stop and ask how she felt about all this.
One day, her loneliness became too much to bear, and she finally decided,
“If no one is going to hear my words or heal my solitude, then I’ll do it myself.”
Then, using the knowledge gained from the grand library in the castle, she built.
She grabbed tools and metals, piling screws and bolts and light bulbs and creating a new being from the bottom up.
As soon as she was finished, she proudly pressed the “on” button.
The robot came to life.
And then it spoke,
“Good morning.”
At this time, it was night.
The princess had put in the phrase “Good morning” as a greeting, and didn’t specify when was the appropriate time to say it. Simple mistake, she didn’t worry much about it.
She decided that instead of reprogramming, she would try teaching the robot new things instead.
She thought the extra time they’d spend together would help it understand the concept of “emotion,” too.
“No, just say ‘hello!”
“Hello.”
So that’s what she did. For months and months, she spent all her free time with her new friend, teaching and bonding, getting closer to it as the days passed.
And, it was learning.
It started saying “good morning” and “good night” at appropriate times. It learned to cook and read.
It even seemed to make progress on emotions.
“When someone is sad, you hug them.” She mentioned.
And whenever the princess cried, the robot would come and give her a cold, metallic embrace. It wouldn’t say much, simply did as it felt was right. And, though the metal was harsh, it was a hug warmer than she had ever felt before.
The only kind of hug she had ever felt before.
Time passed, and the princess got tired of the interior of the castle.
She’s gotten so used to the sight of the intricate wallpaper, the feel of every single stair railing, and the sight of endless paintings in every room.
She decided to take her friend and sneak outside.
So, holding it gently by what would be it’s hand, she quickly and swiftly went through doors and hallways until she came out the back of the tall building.
The fresh air and pure sunlight was enough to make her stand and bask in the new environment for the first time in a while. The robot asked what she was doing.
“It’s so nice out here, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
She smiled, and the two of them went out into the fields. The tall grass and colorful flowers were a comforting sight. It was so warm, too.
They walked, they ran, they talked, they played. They had a wonderful time.
Then, they heard people in the distance, yelling and shouting out, getting closer and closer until someone yelled directly at them.
“It’s the princess!”
The soldiers from the other kingdom were headed towards the castle for another attack. And they were lucky enough to find her, right here.
They approached her, and she backed away. The robot scanned the situation, but it processed the data so, so slowly.
It could only watch as the princess was seized on the spot.
It could only watch as she tried to reach out to her dear friend while she was grabbed and thrown to the ground, screaming pleas and being drowned out by the soldiers’ relentless attacks, swords and axes swinging down on her.
It could only watch as she begged for mercy each time she was hit, tearing through her clothing, skin, and hope altogether.
She couldn’t bear the pain, and she couldn’t understand why the robot was just
Staring at her.
Soon, she stopped moving, stopped screaming, and the soldiers rejoiced.
The war was finally over. There was no more reason to keep fighting.
As they cheered, the robot scanned the princess one more time.
Her distorted, bloody figure.
All the time they had spent together, how she had taught it everything it knows,
How she loved it, how it felt towards her.
The “friendship” they had,
The robot
felt
Nothing.