Hello, hello.
Now that I've had the chance to catch my breath (read: crash on my bed after work), let me tell you more about what's going on in my world.
First, I wanted to give you some more mindfulness practice by showing you some information on Metta, also known as lovingkindness. I am currently reading the book LovingKindness by Sharon Salzberg, which my friend Josh, a practicing Zen Buddhist and Contemplative Psychology major, lent to me after we went to a meditation retreat/Q&A session with Salzberg herself. What is lovingkindness? It is an attitude, an approach to life that entails wishing peace and happiness toward everyone you encounter. Simply through thinking positively about other people, it improves your own mood and perspective on life. I think it is a very useful philosophy to keep in mind when interacting with people so as to keep tempers in check and smiles on faces.
I also wanted to talk more about the Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health, as that is the internship I am most actively involved in on a personal level as well as a time-commitment basis. I am working on a lot of the PR aspects of the CSPH, which is great because it's what I do best, and because it is an unpaid and small internship, I have the freedom to do what I want with it, which is awesome. I am also learning a lot more about how many legal loopholes there are when it comes to sexual education, and how poorly sex ed is taught in high schools. I find it upsetting that people are supposed to know everything they need to know about sex once they leave high school, but usually that process is an awkward and confusing one, at best, and a dangerous and painful one at worst. Yesterday, I witnessed a health educator from Planned Parenthood and the New England Institute for Sexual Health answer high school students' questions about sex. The range of questions was insane, with everything from "how are babies made?" to fairly specific questions about certain acts. This woman was very competent, answered questions straightforwardly, and did not bat an eye. She told the truth, which is a refreshing change from awkwardly working around questions to try to direct high schoolers toward abstinence, which is what happened in my health class a lot of the time. The problem with abstinence-only education is that kids will never eventually learn about how actually to deal with sexual issues if they aren't taught explicitly or learn lessons through practice. This is bad when there are scenarios like relationship abuse, which can be an isolating, confusing, and almost impossible to navigate experience for a young person. When someone's index card was pulled out that asked, "What if he just won't take no for an answer?", my stomach did somersaults. No teenager should have to deal with that situation, and this health educator said so outright, saying leaving was a far better option, because this person obviously didn't really care about you. This is an obvious answer to an outsider, but once someone is consumed with a harmful relationship, it is much harder for them to understand that they are being mistreated and often very difficult to leave and seek help.
I'm glad about the work that I've been doing at the Center. I think Megan can use as much help as she can get, considering she doesn't make any money from having the Center open and she gets so much flack for doing what she does every day. She is pretty inspiring, and I hope to have even half the impact that she has had on the landscape of sexuality in Rhode Island.
On a completely different note, working three steady internships and a few random jobs all summer is starting to wear me out, but I've luckily begun my workout routine again, so I've been getting a bit more energy. These days, my day starts around 8 AM and ends at between 1 and 2 AM. I'm waiting to get the platform questionnaires back from the candidates for RI NOW, so that we can decide who we are endorsing. Once those start coming in, my life will get slightly crazier, because I will have to make spreadsheets for every candidate and every question and compare them to RI NOW's values to see if we will be making any additional endorsements in the state primaries, which are coming up in September. I will probably be doing more campaign work for Betsy Dennigan, as well. I also have to start worrying about studying for the LSAT again, which I'll be retaking in October. I started an LSAT study group that will have its first meeting tomorrow. Also, in September, I will be running a 5K. It's going to be insane, and I haven't even thought about that whole "school" thing, yet.
Now I need to take a nap. It has been a long, long week.
Take care.
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