Small Steps

I loved the class discussion we had today about cultural competence.  This has been something that has been on my mind a lot recently.  The question of whether or not I am racist, bias, or prejudice is something that I have had a hard time thinking about or answering.  I grew up in East Tennessee where the majority demographic is white.  I did have friends of different races and never thought I was racist or thought differently of them because of the color of their skin.  I went to a college with a variety of different races and ethnicities, yet still the majority was white.

When I decided to go to Memphis for graduate school I got to hear everyone's opinions on why they thought that was a bad idea and their concerns for my safety.  This soon got very old and I began to get angry at the lack of respect people had for their own state.   This time of transition for me was around the election and that brought out a lot of discussions between friends and family about race.  When we moved to Memphis I think I was in all honesty to shocked to see myself a minority in many situations and places I went. This got me thinking about my thoughts about race and things that I may think in my head, but I would never say them out loud.   Believing something to be true for a specific group of people or automatically moving my purse to the other side of my shoulder when seeing someone who looks "sketchy" on the street.  I don't think that I am actively trying to do these things against other races or people different than me, it has almost been ingrained in my brain.  The way we are raised, the people who surround us, and the places we live all have a big impact on how we see the world.  I am trying actively to see everyone as an individual and put whatever preconceived notions I have aside. Being aware of your own biases and prejudice is the first step I think our country needs to make towards equality.  I hope that I am able to serve all different types of people when I practice occupational therapy and am looking forward to being able to learn from them.