Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man

Today we continued our curriculum. We started off by making diagrams displaying how men and women are categorized in society. The activity was called "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man". Most times the groups would have the same idea that men are considered wimps if they stray from the box society has placed them in and women would be a tomboy if they do the same. This activity opened my eyes because everything that people wrote were true. Today it seems like history has still repeated itself, no one can just be an individual. I learned how the expectations are set in society and there's a weird double standard. I honestly believe men have it harder in society because if they become too emotional they are considered "gay", ridiculed, and even physically beat up. 

Guest speakers are great because today I learned about the amount of dedication you need to go through with an action plan. Today a student that took the Women and Leadership last year cam to speak to our class and how she has implemented her action plan. Selena talked about how she realized that she need to complete the action plan. Her plan is to teach a six week course to young women who has been exposed to human trafficking. I thought it was great that she was reaching out to people even in the "dangerous" part of Providence, South Providence. She didn't let the area restrict her, she found ways to make it happen. Her bravery has encouraged me to try much harder to explore places people refuse to help. 

In the beginning of the class we also had a guest speaker. Suzy Alba, running for Providence City Council, touched on the importance of believing. She told us that it does not matter what age you are, you can succeed in anything. For example, the mayor of Holyoke is only 22 years old. Age is nothing but a number. Suzy brought up her struggle and how she did not let it affect her, she embraced it and now she's running for City Council. Overall, her ambitiousness showed me that you can do anything as long as you're dedicated, can be any age, and determined. 

So far it has hit mid-week so we had to fill out an evaluation form. I would say I had nothing bad to say because Kisa and the Leadership Fellows have been great the entire time. My favorite activities we did this past week were the diversity workshop, learning about the four different leaders, and the Ropes Course, These actives helped me develop into a well rounded leader and I can't wait until next week!