It was so nice to see the familiar faces in SSB 102 after a long hiatus! I want to give the amazing Grace Tran a shoutout - she swooped me, a panicked would-be Lyft rider out of the blue and magically apparated me to campus in a flash when I was running late. She’s a real one! Although today was mostly logistical, I especially enjoyed when we all got the chance to introduce our Extraordinary Persons. The backstories, reasons behind choosing, and pictures made it all very personal yet endearing - I appreciate how everyone was comfortable enough to share such stories about their lives and their close ones. I also really enjoyed Dr. Bussell’s current event presentation and following discussion - I wasn’t aware that there was so many concurrent achievements being made for older women in this country, and it was enlightening to discuss the societal pressures and conventions that still suppress women, and aging women in general, to succeed as much as their male counterparts can. I realized that it was definitely part of my privilege as a younger male that I can go about not giving this topic much thought, which is upsetting because my mother, my aunts, and my grandmother are all part of this population and are subject to the same structural and societal constructions/restrictions. And what’s worse, I condemn these institutions (the Cosmeceutical industry, for example), for magnifying and capitalizing upon the insecurities of aging, but I myself support and propagate such messaging with my own purchasing of skincare products. It’s still a difficult and nuanced conversation that I haven’t resolved yet - balancing between self-care and overindulgence with consumerism. Overall, a great first day back!
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Andrew NguyenWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
June 2019
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