Social Advocacy: As Seen Through A Teen's Eyes
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As a teen advocate, I have definitely been able to create a perspective in which I see certain situations differently. I have realized that certain topics aren’t taken seriously by the world, and even our own parents. Teenagers aren’t taken seriously when they are passionate about something, and that’s why I think it’s important for teenagers to get the chance to express themselves and be able to share what they are passionate about. This topic is very near and dear to my heart, because I was bullied when I was younger, so throughout this project, my purpose was to spread the word and be able to make a change for others. This has always been my purpose, ever since I started researching about this topic, and being able to find others that actually care about this topic as well was important. As a student, I feel like sometimes I’m not taken seriously, whether that be in my community or at school, just because I am a teenager and because I might look younger than I look, that doesn’t mean that what I care about isn’t important. My thoughts and opinions are as important as adults in the real world, which is why this project was one of my favorites. I was able to explore another side of my topic, one that most people don’t look into, and I was able to find my perspective and my thoughts in this. Which is why I think it’s important that people look into important topics like Bullying, which are harming most communities and academic environments..
In the beginning of this project, we were exposed to basic and social needs, something that I had never heard before. I was clueless in the beginning because I had never heard of basic or social needs and I didn’t know that they existed. Connecting the dots, I realized exactly what these needs were, and why they were so important to a human being. As a human, we need these needs met or else we could not survive properly as a human being. Water, food and shelter are basic needs that humans need, because that’s how our body can survive anything. We need food and water to supplement our body and nourish it, so we are healthy physically. Shelter is needed to we are protected in any community we are in. Now, social needs are the ones that most humans don’t have, and they are also important to us. As a human, we need: Relatedness, Status, Certainty, Autonomy and Fairness to be able to survive in communities and environments with other people. If someone doesn’t have status in a certain environment or community, they might feel alone, or deprived of human contact. If they don’t have fairness in their “friend group” or community, they might feel isolated, or ignored by everyone else. All of these connect and make sure that we are okay, which is why everyone needs to be aware of basic and social needs that they have. Most people don’t realize that some of these needs aren’t being met, and maybe a change in relationship with others or a change in the community can affect that person. |
(Left to Right) Alexis, Ambahr, Valerie, Alexandra
(Picture Credits: Sofia Flores) |
Meet The Team! (The Brains Behind The Zine)
Feel free to check out their Digital Portfolio, (click the button under their picture) to see their process, essay's and work that they did during this project!
Speak Out! Zine
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Speak Out! Was a zine created by Alexandra, Valerie, Ambahr and Alexis, which features 4 different topics: Bullying, Beauty Standards, Feminism and Equality In Education. As a group, they worked together to create a beautiful zine, in which they advocated for their topics and shared their experience with the community. They invite you to view their process and see what they have accomplished during this project.
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Meet My Social Advocate: Leigh Rachel Faith Fujimoto
Leigh was kind enough to let me interview her for my social advocacy topic, read our interview by clicking on her picture!
