I’m 21 years old. Right in the middle of that “young adult” age group and I think I’m a pretty proficient young adult, too. Amongst my peers, I’m a little older and I have more knowledge and exposure so I never had an incident where I didn’t know how to perform a task, therefore feeling insignificant in comparison to others. That all changed when I entered spaces with “real” adults.
Most of the people at the Sierra Club are older, more seasoned professionals with decades of this experience in this field. I’m in my fourth week at this organization and I took approximately 4 environmental justice classes before. Adjusting to this difference in skill is jarring to say the least but I’ve definitely learned a lot. I realized that I can be arrogant and as the old adage goes, I need to “check myself before I wreck myself”. I may know a lot, but I don’t know everything. Humbling myself and learning from the expertise of those I work is useful because it can prevent me from making a fool of myself in the future.
Age differences are the only obstacles I’m facing in regards to the culture of SC. As a black woman, I’m always a little hesitant when entering professional and educational spaces because of undesirable experiences from the past. Being in a space that’s overwhelmingly white or male (or both) has always been uncomfortable to me due to group dynamics and lack of communication or understanding between social groups. At the SC, almost all of the employees are women (mostly fellow black women) and the sole white male is about 3 years my senior and concious of the plight of his peers. Just being around black women in power is so inspiring to me. Being a part of such a disempowered group is discouraging, but seeing people who look like me and come from similar backgrounds as I do in fields that I want to be in makes me think that the world isn’t that bad.
