When it came to critical thinking, I definitely had to wrap my brain around all the critical facts I discovered within working at RTS as well as doing research for my paper. Discovering facts about rape and women's struggle for equality is something that is not always easy to take. Although much of what I discovered throughout the Capstone were facts, it was hard to put the pieces together because some things that have happened (or are still happening) in society are just very hard to accept. For example, the fact that women were treated like such unintelligent people in the 1950s that weren't good for much more that cooking and cleaning is so hard to grasp, because now in the 21st century women aren't treated like that. Also, when it came to facts about rape victims, I had to connect the dots to figure out why so many rape cases go unreported because I never understood why so many people are ashamed to report such crimes. When it came to communication, there was definitely a lot of talking with my mentor and checking in on our progress, as well as a lot of communication with the other youth ambassador Maddie. We all communicated every week on what was going on, and how we were doing with the Capstone. During my research for my paper, I definitely talked a lot with my US History teacher, Ms. Mannion because i asked for a lot of documents she handed out last year that had to do with my research topic. I also talked a lot with Ms. DeKoven about my thesis, which was probably the biggest struggle when writing my paper. Now, collaboration and creativity went hand in hand especially at RTS! The most obvious event of collaboration and creativity came when me and Maddie had to make the umbrella poster for the volunteer appreciation event and also when we had to make what seemed like a ton of signs for the SAAM Walk. We definitely had to think of creative slogans and creative ways to put our ideas on paper, which was hard since both of us are creatively challenged! However, I think I did get my creative juices flowing during my time at RTS, so I was proud of that.
I definitely gained a lot of new knowledge while volunteering for such a short time at RTS. I never thought I'd learn and respect something so much. Personally, I NEVER thought in a million years I'd be volunteering at a rape crisis center. That in itself was a huge stepping stone for me because I was going into an area of work I didn't know much about. I didn't know how I was going to react to anything I would discover, so the act itself of choosing to volunteer at RTS was such a huge growing experience and a time for me to step out of my comfort zone. I was one of those people that thought if a woman or man is alone in a dark alley they have the biggest chance of being raped. Little did I know, most rape cases involve a loved one or friend. I also didn't knew how often it happened.I mean I knew it was very common, but I never in a million years would've thought that 1 in 3 (almost 1 in 2) women have been sexually assaulted by the time they turn 18! and I also never knew that 1 in 5 men are sexually assaulted by the time they turn 18.
Intellectually, I discovered so many unknown facts that seriously opened my eyes to the problem of rape and sexual assault. A lot of my work was spent organizing paperwork and creating copies of readings and important papers, but even so I still learned a ton of information. A lot of the time I would skim through the readings that caught my eye, and the things I read definitely stirred up a lot of emotions. Knowing that people go through molestation as a child or get raped by their husband or significant other or that sexual assault happens in all communities is just crazy. There are so many misconceptions about the topic of rape and sexual assault that it really made me stop assuming things and being ignorant. For example, I was one of those people that was guilty of "victim blame" where when I found out about a girl who got raped at a party because she was drunk, I'd say something like "Well its her fault, she shouldn't have been at a party or getting drunk." When in reality, despite the unintelligent choices anyone may make, no one ever asks to be raped or sexually assaulted.I definitely realized how complicated this topic can be, and I learned to respect anyone that goes through sexual assault so much more than I ever did before my work at RTS. This also caused me to want to educate my peers more about sexual assault because I feel like many of them are so uneducated and have misconceptions about this topic, so when I gave small presentations in senior english classes to inform them about RTS and sexual assault as well as to ask for donations, it felt good to know people actually cared. The fact that anyone even donated to this cause let me know that there are people that care about things like this and that my information got through to other people.
A definite challenge I faced was mustering up the courage to give the senior english class presentations. I didn't know how to give my peers the necessary information for them to be interested in this cause without overloading them with information in a short amount of time. I wanted them to care because I care about such a strong topic, but I wanted to give them good reasons to donate because I didn't want to just ask for donations to give to RTS. I wanted them to want to donate because it was their choice, and not just because I asked. I was scared no one would care about what I had to say, or that no one would donate. That's when I came to Jessica to ask for help, and she really gave me a boost of confidence! I explained my worries and doubts to her, and she was able to help guide me with information that I felt like my peers would be interested enough in to donate. However, even after meeting with Jessica and getting the information I thought was crucial, I was still very nervous to do the presentations. I finally got the courage, and told myself to just do it. I'm glad I did because it was so rewarding knowing that people genuinely cared. All in all, I can't believe how much fun I had at RTS and doing this project. Im definitely honored that I got a chance to work with such amazing people.
