Willing to View Life From Another Person's Shoes

     I sense that something is changing inside of me.  And the change isn't only related to learning about students like Drake who are visually impaired.  As a result of the voice project I am becoming more aware of the words that come out of my mouth about others.  I am more tuned in to catching myself making assumptions about others and I am more aware when I hear others making assumptions, too.  It's like I've always viewed life from my own shoes and now I'm viewing life from the perspective of many other shoes.  This weekend an acquaintance of mine shared a story about buying a dresser from someone off Craig's List.  She said that she went to pick up the dresser and two guys helped her load the dresser.  She explained the details of the transaction and told me that the two guys were gay.  I immediately wondered why she felt the need to tell me that the two guys were gay.  That didn't have anything to do with her purchasing the dresser.  She must have seen the puzzled look on my face as I was questioning in my mind why she shared this because she quickly went on to explain that she doesn't have anything against gay guys.  She said she even has a few friends who are gay.  Because she was only an acquaintance I didn't press her any further, but I've thought about the situation several times since it happened.  I wonder how many times I've said something similar to what she said.  My awareness of others and their identity is definitely heightened as a result of the voice project.  I guess I was expecting to have a heightened awareness for students like Drake, but I didn't know that it would necessarily spill over into other areas.  The interaction I described above made me think more about my own privilege as a white, Christian female.  It bothers me that in the past I have been a person that is so quick to make assumptions.  What I am learning is impacting me and I know that I am changing in positive ways as a result of what I'm learning.  I'm beginning to feel the urge to educate others and make them aware of their assumptions about people who are different from them.  Changes like I'm experiencing are scary because I've never been one who wants to start conflict, but at the same time, I am finding it difficult to sit back and listen to others make comments about others based on assumptions and stereotypes.  I want to continue to gain understanding around others' differences and share what I'm learning with my friends and family in hopes that they will start to see things differently, too.  I think the world would be a better place if we were all willing to look at life from others' shoes.