Am I Prepared?

I have said in previous blogs that when I first came to Loras I was only concentrated on my science degree, which was true. But as I started taking classes in different disciplines that forced me to think about larger issues beyond science, I was gradually filled with a desire to make a difference in the world. But as I learned more, took service trips, and opened my mind even more I gradually and sadly realized there was no way I could save the world. I had to reevaluate my stance on world saving and decided to scale it down a bit. Now I believe that I do have lots to offer society when I leave Loras, but I need to offer those things on a local level. I can use my health science background to help people anywhere and my liberal arts education will insure I keep an open mind while helping others. Another quality Loras has taught me through their small campus and numerous activities is a sense of community. This is something that I want to maintain after Loras by becoming active in a community. This drive for community as well as my educational background will allow me to offer many different talents to my local community.
The different social issues I will face after I leave Loras could range greatly from where I live and how I spend my time. For instance, if I were to stay in Dubuque I could easily live in a predominantly white neighborhood, go to work, and totally seclude myself from the social issues in the Dubuque area. But if I choose to spend some of my time in a highly diverse area like the Washington neighborhood, I would almost instantly face social issues. Maria, Missy, Ryan, and I have already spent a little time at the Multicultural Family Center with a group of African American girls from Senior High School and have been faced with some of these issues. We asked the girls how they liked Senior and one of them instantly responded "It's too ghetto!" and another one slapped her and told her "You can't say that!" Meaning she shouldn't say that in front of white people. Later on in the conversation, a sophomore girl said she had a 3 month old baby. We must have looked shocked because one of her friends said "Look at all 'em! They like 'err'". I expected I would encounter young teenage mothers while working down there but the thing that struck me was how ok all of them were with it. To them it was a common occurrence and happened all the time. In my high school I had a classmate who had a baby with his girlfriend their senior year which is a rare occurrence in my town. It was huge shock to the school, to the community, and to the couple but people did anything they could to help them out. I don't think these girls from Senior have much help from the outside community and it is not shocking when it happens. I have to say I was not that prepared to face these issues. My whole life I have been around a predominantly white Catholic society: a society that thinks everything is hunky dory and only hears about the inner city projects or 'ghettos'. Even while at Loras, I haven't faced very many social issues because again we are a predominantly white catholic college. My liberal arts education does help by teaching you about the different social issues in the world and gives you an open mind to see all sides of these issues. But that does not even come close to what you will experience when you go out into the real world and do service. In a lot of ways I am like the narrator from Invisible Man. He had always heard about the way blacks were treated up north but once he saw it he was shocked. But the narrator was almost scared by what he saw especially when he saw the black rally taking place close to white police men. I do not feel scared; I feel like this is a perfect way to learn about these social issues and see how I handle them.