HD 364 was one of my very favorite classes at Pacific Oaks.

The books we got to read

encompassed so much useful material on concepts of community and kinship that it gave me
a much deeper and more significant grasp on the struggles and experiences faced by people
of many different societal groups. The opportunities to go on trips to organizations such as
Homeboy Industries, the Los Angeles LGBT Center and the Japanese American National
Museum gave a wonderful aspect of genuine connectedness with members of many different
communities in the present, bringing the books to life.
I was able to fulfill my goals in HD 364 by being wholeheartedly invested and committed
to this class. Although the course work was challenging, it did not feel like drudgery or work.
I always looked forward to it despite having two weekend intensives during that semester
because it was fun, exciting and intellectually stimulating. Its content allowed me to build
upon my awareness and knowledge of issues and topics that we covered in this class. I
learned and retained so much, because it was a pleasure to do; I really loved it.
This class gave me in-depth knowledge of real life experiences of others from very
personal, first-person perspectives drawn from cross-sections of several different societal
groups. Each topic and discussion shed the light of reality on how society marginalizes and
disenfranchises our fellow humans who belong to groups which face stigmatization from
large populations of others, because they do not fall into various social constructs of
popular or acceptable norms.
I learned new techniques for opening up and participating in dialogues with others in
appropriate and respectful ways, on topics that are known to be potentially difficult to
approach and navigate; with people whom I may not have otherwise had the chance to talk to

or learn from. This was possible only because we were given the gift of open conversation by
several groups of exceptional, phenomenal people who volunteered to do panels for our class
and/or invited us to their facilities. This provided a valuable opportunity for listening,
learning and for discussing topics with people from the LGBT Center, Homeboy Industries,
students from the Pasadena City College Safe Zone and those in recovery who were former
residents of Los Angeles Skid Row, who all graciously offered an open forum to our class.
It was a very valuable and unique experience that I feel fortunate to have had.
My contributions to this class were in our class discussions, and in participating in our
group presentation, which was on the topic of race and children. It particularly focused on
how parents view racial issues and compared and contrasted how people do or do not discuss
and educate their children, based on their own views on that topic. We also did research and
brought attention to how and when children become aware of differences in people, in terms
of race. We discussed why it is important to approach this in a way that is respectful to every
societal group and to do so with realistic and informed outlook as to the awareness that
children have. We discussed how this problem often goes unaddressed-due to parents own
issues of discomfort, and how all of this contributes to perpetuating problems of racial
differences and cultural misunderstandings. I learned a lot from this, and enjoyed bringing up
questions for the class to participate in and to consider as we did our presentation.
My classmates contributed a lot to me, by offering their input and honestly discussing
times when they had confusion or discomfort on some of the topics which brought
dissonance or disequilibrium to them. I got some new insights on how people tend to judge
and view things as, right and wrong when that may not necessarily be appropriate, useful
or accurate at all. We had many thought provoking conversations that were sometimes
2

volatile and stirred strong reactions. I learned a lot by my classmates vulnerability and
honesty in these situations. I also learned how certain themes that we were studying played
out right before my eyes in the classroom, which was fascinating. It helped me gain more
empathy regardless of my opinion, or whether or not I found certain people or their views
agreeable or not.
I also had a new understanding-a pretty serious epiphany, really-brought to light in my
own perceptions and attitude toward race. Until this class, I had not been truly and
thoroughly aware of how my Korean heritage had affected my own thoughts and feelings on
how the Japanese were viewed, and in some cases, openly demonized in my family.
I was not aware of the subtle feelings of either disdain or indifference that I had on this
matter, until we watched a historical video about the Japanese Internment and I became
aware of how misdirected some of my emerging thoughts were, while I was watching it. I
suddenly understood that these types of thoughts toward the Japanese as a whole had been
openly justified by my grandmother and other family members, due to the very real and
destructive ways that our family was directly affected by the Japans occupation of Korea.
On more than one occasion, historically (and unfortunately, in many instances, several
times over) personal members of my immediate and extended family had been murdered,
raped, kidnapped or otherwise brutalized and acculturated by the Japanese throughout several
generations of my family.
However, this fact does not justify racism or any other sort of hate, on any level, toward
any group or under any circumstances. Ever. These are precisely the types of issues that I am
vehemently against and emphatically, openly oppose. Yet I was finally and abruptly stricken
3

with the discovery of the fact that I myself was presently guilty of it. I was both stunned at
recognizing this fact itself and simultaneously shocked at my own denial of it remaining
unidentified for so long. I am particularly grateful and pleased to have found something
within myself that I needed to become aware of, evaluate and swiftly change.
This was only possible became of this class and from information gleaned from the
readings and panels, which allowed me to very clearly ponder and understand how thoughts
such as these can gain momentum when they spread throughout groups. I learned how the
dangers and consequences of this kind of thinking can easily transform to behaviors in which
people act out against each other, and from there, they become larger and potentially grave,
life-threatening, long-term societal problems.
This is not what I stand for. The candor and sharing that I got to participate in allowed me
to access a new level of honesty within myself and find where my own faults and biases
exist. It is true that all people have biases, but this is not how I want to live or treat others.
Without this awareness and the chances to understand new and deeper elements of humanity
and empathy through the connections made in this class, I may have remained in the dark
about this undesirable part of myself. So I really learned much more than I ever could have
bargained for, and I am lucky to have been a part of a truly outstanding Pacific Oaks
experience. It was truly inspiring and eye-opening.