Reading the article, Finding Your Power, I realized that I sometimes fall under the category of an excuse maker, and sometimes a blame maker. I find myself making up excuses why I cannot accomplish something or why I cannot do something. To overcome this I just need to stop making excesses and just do it because I might realize that I was wrong. I also tend to have issues trusting people and reaching out to others because growing up I never had that figure to look towards to, but I am working on it this year. I actually have formed strong connections with others this year, and I am learning to seek out others for support.I am not a blame maker in the fact that I value others. I am always looking out for others, and I always want to help others. I think that to help others rise above blaming and excuse making is to be a support system. I think that if you are there for an individual, and you guide them to be a person that values not only themselves, but also others. 

I found the article, The Do’s and Don’ts of Being a Good Ally, interesting because this past week I went to a dialogue dinner in which they talked about being an Ally, so I already have some background information. My definition of an ally is being a friend and being a support for individuals from marginalized groups. As member of the STARS LEAD we can practice being allies amongst ourselves. What I mean is that we all come from different back grounds, we all associate with different identities, and we all have different privileges, so we can take the do’s and don’ts from this article to be allies to each other. Another way in which I can apply ally ship in the STARS LEAD program is to advocate ally ship because as a leader it is important to create support for others. Since I am new to the concept of being an ally I have a lot to learn, but I am taking small steps. For example, I am taking initiative to stand up to bigotry comments from individuals. I am also good at listening to others experiences before I make judgments. I need to work on doing more research to gain more knowledge on different marginalized groups, so I can be a better ally to them. 

I was am upset that I was not able to be there Friday and actually meet the students. I wish I could have partaken in the Scholarship Junkies session. I look forward to reading and talking to you guys about your experience on Friday. 

When I heard the word ally this song came to mind: