Reflection: Weeks 9 & 10

Week 9
On Tuesday, we talked about advocacy in class and how it relates to the job of a health educator. To be honest, I hadn't realized what a big deal advocacy is. Or, for that matter, what exactly advocacy is! I guess I always assumed advocacy was only for really outspoken, politically involved individuals (which I definitely am not), so I shied away from the issue. I never really stopped to think much about it and how it related to lobbying and grassroots efforts, especially in connection with the health education profession. Now I realize that anyone can advocate for something they have an opinion about and an interest in. Advocacy doesn't have to be risky or scary, but it will take thought, planning, knowledge of the subject, and a time commitment. I have now changed my opinion and believe that willingness to advocate for a cause is just another positive characteristic of an involved citizen.

advocacy: the act of pleading or arguing in favor of something, such as a cause, idea, or policy; active support.

Along with this discussion, we were assigned the first part of our Advocacy Project. For this, we were supposed to find out who our political representatives are. This was good for me, because I'll admit I didn't know who all of my representatives were before looking them up for this assignment!

In class on Thursday of week 9, we discussed photography ethics and how to take quality photography in relation to our upcoming Photo Essay. We also talked about how photo essays are an effective way to advocate for under-served populations. I thought this was very interesting, because I hadn't thought of it that way before, but once it was mentioned I began to think of all the times I have seen this sort of advocacy in action.

Week 10
We did not have class this week since Dr. V. was out of town. I definitely enjoyed the extra time this gave me! Also, we all eased up a little on the blogging posts so they were less overwhelming than normal.

Our photo essays were due this week, and I'm looking forward to seeing the topics everyone chose! Earlier this week, I got quite frustrated with my photo essay, but I think it turned out alright. I ended up switching my topic, and also my LCD screen on my camera is broken so I can't use the settings (such as the flash!) or see exactly what is in the frame of each photo! But, like I said, things turned out fine. Looking back, I'm not sure why I didn't just borrow a camera from some one else... oh well.

Since I've been trying to make my life more environmentally friendly these past few weeks, I was excited to learn that some of my friends were interested in celebrating Earth Hour this past weekend. We kept all our electricity off for a couple hours on Saturday night and had a great time helping out our earth!

Well, I think that's about it for these past two weeks. I can't believe we're at the end of week 10 already -- the semester is just flying by!