Khadijah Abdallah____Final Reflection

When I first wrote this personal refelction on challenges faced by adolescents to a health sexuality, the biggest issues I identified were the following:
1- Lack of good role models
2- The media and pop culture that glamorize it
3- Even the educational system is somewhat to blame

After the workshops, and after meeting and seeing different adolescents from all aspects of life, I was impressed with a lot of stuff. I was impressed that the adolescents knew more about the issue then I sometimes expected, especially in my own workshop when many of the teens would put forth hard scientific facts that even I had just found out recently or did not previously know. I still recall one of the participants in my workshop stating that MSM are more susceptible to HIV infection if they have unprotected sex due to purely biological reasons associated with anal intercouse. Or, the fact that 1 in 20 DC children are infected with HIV. Of course, the participant did not ramble on in that matter. But, seeing how they knew the seriousness of the issue, was pleasantly surprising, and proved to me that I really should not underestimate these adolescents. In the Bell Multicultural School workshop, I was impressed with how some of the students knew plenty about contraceptive use and the importance of a condom. Yet, I also found the shyness and the giggles that came forth during the role plays to emphasize the idea that they really are teenagers that are sometimes uncomfortable with this topic. They listened, though and were respectful if rambunctious at times.
Despite this, however, I still believe that the issues I identified in my initial post are essential to the some of the problems that exist today. The last point on the educational system was mostly emphasized to me through the both workshops that I attended. In the first workshop, the one in Bell Multicultural Highschool, this was evidenced through the questions that were asked, especially the one on whether or not the Plan B will ‘kill the baby’. Granted that I have seen some adults with the same sort of confusion, it struck me as a ‘normal’, and yet, I feel that had the basic educational system made up for the general lack of knowledge that exists on the matter, then perhaps there would not be this confusion. At the same time, though, the workshops also established the fact that there are resources available to facilitate communications and increase knowledge among adolescents on these important matters. Optimistically speaking, through the efforts of MetroTeen AIDS and after school programs such as the one in which we had the fortunate opportunity to participate in, I believe that better health outcomes will be achieved.
In addition to these workshops, the class itself was an interesting journey into the realm of adolescence. When I first started the class, I was terrifed at the prospect of having to facilitate a workshop and presenting to a group of teenagers on the topic of sexual health. Through what Professor Sara and Alice taught on methods and techniques for successfully conducting a workshop, I was able to calm down a bit and even become slightly excited at the prospect of participating in my very own workshop. The classes indicated that some of the general stereotypes that we all have about teenagers are true, but that interacting with them is not necessarily a terrifying experience equivalent to a day in boot camp. I believe the skills obtianed from this class are truly a useful lesson in communication, whether it be with adolescents or not.