Just an FYI, as I’m writing this rantish/opinion piece, I am feeling real hot right now. Not like temperature wise, or by looking (even though I am), but hot as in angry and annoyed. Writing this, I have just left my AP Lang class. I had the pleasure of sitting through a class talking about social justice. As you can imagine, with the topic of the class, and my current feelings it went “well.”

First, speaking positively, I absolutely love the class and my teacher. It’s nice to even have a unit labelled Social Justice. To take on such controversial and touchy topics head on. To talk under the direction of a teacher so open, is a completely new experience for me, and probably for everyone. But here comes the problem, having varied opinions and viewpoints are always ideal for fairly diverse discussion. In a class of 25, we have a large majority of female students rather than male. We even have a handful of minorities. And yet, even with such a diverse class, at least for South Windsor, I can only observe more problems.

For people who have never and will never have the same experience of another person or community of people, yet still be bold enough to comment on, criticize, when speaking about different struggles and complaints that they have, will forever blow my mind. I know that I can’t speak specifics, and if anyone from my class read this they would know exactly what I’m talking about, but really I can’t care anymore.

People, listen to me when I say that you can’t, or really should not, speak on what you do not know. Take it from a quiet girl. In not speaking you can learn a lot, or at least save yourself from saying the wrong thing.

Just because something doesn’t happen to you, or is a concern in your life does not mean that it just doesn’t happen in life. In the lives of those who are more privileged in this nation, it can be very, very difficult for them to get this.

It can be very, very difficult for me to be sympathetic towards them.