Week #1

This is my Eureka Moment, I am convinced after reading chapters 1 & 2 that my gender role began the da y I was born and here’s what I observed from birth until now.
I am an observer born into this world without a manual to tell me about the dos and don’ts. I sure wish I had one. I was conceived with the expectations of a wonderful life that was promised to me when I had no idea that I would be here subject to the generational success and failures that goes along with being born. Now I’m here with no control over my being as yet at this young age. I began to wonder why I am here. As I am growing on a daily basis by leaps and bounds the answer eventually come to me, this is just the beginning of a long journey in which I will know the truth of my being. As time passes I begin to get it, what sinks in and sticks is that someone else is calling the shots at this young age of mine and this stirs up some concerns for me, what’s my part in this and by the way, who are the players in this game of life. I believe this is where identity enters into the equation and where everyone involved in my well being, assumes they know who they are, where they are going and how they are going to get to the finish line. The place that I reside now forces me to trusts them to do right by me without me having a choice in the matter. So now I ask what will determine their behavior, is it their experience? Is it their environment? Is it their belief? Or will they make it up as they go along. One must factor in all of the above to determine my well being.
Another factor I must consider by being born is my physical appearance. I want to know who will I look like and will it matter to others, how will I be accepted and how will I affect their lives? Will I look like the creators of me and do I have any say about what takes place at this stage. I guess it would be nice to choose because if you get to choose than half the battle is won,” no pun intended” I then can skip over the identity crisis and head right into my true purpose in life. The real reason I am here, “ Life’s JOURNEY.” This will surely shorten the journey and allow me to focus on the important issues that plaque those that need help along the way. I can see now that this living thing is going to be a process but I’m up for the challenge. I must see now what’s next for me.
I lived through the identity stage; the physical differences and variations, my skin color and characteristic are beyond my control. I know now what I look like and now I’m looking forward to the behavior part of my mission. How should I behave now that I’m growing? I just want to observe for awhile. I want to see what everyone else is doing around me and how they are adjusting to the different situations that surround them. I can see there are human differences amongst us. I have noticed that people are being treated differently because of their physical make up and because they all do not resemble each other. I have also noticed that people with lighter skin tone has a greater advantage over those slightly darker than they are, by being socially, economically and politically correct. So I have to wonder where that leaves everyone else. How in this world did this happen? I thought everyone was created equal. I guess someone thought of the method of dividing, ranking and controlling other people and that would create human differences, and for a long period of time this system worked. But now I am growing bigger and stronger within myself and have actually realized that I, yes me, born with little external knowledge have come to know and figured out that I have my own brain cells to think with, thanks to those who influenced me along the way. I am beginning to get the picture, the lesson here is, it doesn’t matter what other people are thinking, saying or doing, everyone here and around the world have an identity that has developed from other sources, your race, class, gender and ethnicity will continue to play an important part in “YOU” upholding the rights you are so deserving of, the right to feel good and to be comfortable in your own skin.