Heather's Final Reflection

This has been a great class – one of my favorites by far at GWU. I have really learned a great deal about how to conduct workshops with youth in general; how to tailor workshops to certain groups; how to be open and communicate effectively; and how to express my views openly, while still appreciating the views of others. This class not only focuses on adolescent health promotion, but I think it has also allowed all of us in the class to ponder our own ways of thinking and our own viewpoints and to become more in tune with them.

Our initial blog post was focused on what we think barriers to a healthy sexuality are. I still hold the same beliefs the barriers consist of: a lack of adequate health education, parental attitudes and beliefs, religious views, and a lack of access to contraceptives. Unfortunately, despite the class and what we have learned, these problems still persist. However, now each of us are equipped with the skills to conduct workshops and better promote youth health, I believe we are one step closer to overcoming some of these barriers. Though people will still have their various viewpoints, those views can at least be opened and explored through the use of workshops and by giving adolescents the ability to learn and form views of their own.