I also thought it was interesting to think about the abundance of catholic imagery in goth culture, while the goth community isn't necessarily religious and the general "satanic" stereotype that gets assigned to alternative groups. It could be due to the Romantic influences and imagery used in multiple different subgroups, but I'm curious to trace the roots of the religious imagery to a certain time period in the possible late 80's- 90s.

It's kind of cool to see how in a post-truth and enlightenment-centered world, my generation is "swinging the pendulum", so to speak, towards a more relative truth spectrum. I even saw a hoodie that said "living my truth" on campus the same week we talked about this concept in class.

Personally, I try to keep my mind open to ideas I cannot easily explain away with a formula or theory to other higher forces. However, I know that the world as I know it is rapidly innovating and I have to accept any change with evidence regardless or my previously held beliefs in theory.

I wanted to acknowledge that a lot the names we have for tribes and the labels we cast on certain groups of Natives are derived from the languages of their oppressors. For example, a lot of "Iroquois" members are in actuality called members of the Six Nations, or Haudenosaunee, and have tried to completely shed the previous title . The word 'Iroquois' is a French word and was imposed on the tribe in an attempt to simplify and inappropriately label this group of North-Eastern Natives, and the continued usage of this word in textbooks is heavily protested. This tribe deserves to be freed from the name bestowed upon on them from their oppressors going forward in history, and if we can teach kids to pronounce "Charlemagne", we can teach them to pronounce Haudenosaunee.

This second anecdote is even more personal then the first observation because it was explained to me through a close family friend and neighbor when she went through this process herself. In order to acquire a 'headdress' as we would know it, your tribe requires you preform outstanding acts for your community and earn every feather featured in the garment. This can take a large portion of one's life to achieve and the amount of cultural significance in each of these pieces is outstanding and is diminished each time it's used inappropriately in media. My neighbor inherited her grandfather's headdress when he and her father passed but she was still able to walk me through the meaning of each feather and explain to me the rich history that it's born witness to.

It was really interesting to see how the religions can intersect and otherwise coexist when I've only witnessed how they can otherwise exclude one another. For example, the video shown in class about the vodun priestess being a devout Catholic. In a lot of Western and Abrahamic religions, you can only accept one methodology to worship but in this corner of the world, you can whole-heartedly believe and follow both facets of faith without contradictions.

Another thing I kept thinking back to is an episode about Voodoo in a Netflix docu-series I love titled "Dark Tourist". In this episode, a Swedish journalist travels to the Ivory Coast to follow a voodoo priestess as she shops in a "voodoo market", and he's initiated as a disciple of her idol under this priestess. He also attends the festival of another spirit with this priestess, where followers are possessed by a malevolent energy that causes the subjects to injure themselves and others as offerings for this spirit. The journalist is in constant awe of how much he had gotten wrong about voodoo, and how normal it is to its followers like the priestess.

That episode was one of my first educational experiences when it came to the realm of voodoo and hoodoo, and it was really interesting to witness part of real rituals within the practice.

The part I found particularly interesting was the section about yoga because that is something I'm fairly experienced in. I've taken and led introductory yoga classes before in different settings (at school and my job), and I've taken some core ideas away from it.

The key point of focus in yoga is your breath and controlling it as you move into different positions. I always to try express to students if I'm leading a course that they should be both connected with their bodies and the space around them, which is a hard premise to teach to beginners especially. If they're just starting out with yoga, there's a good chance the student is more focused on trying to successfully move into the poses correctly or focused on their outward appearance which is understandable. However, I tell them that with time they should be less focused on the stretching aspect of the exercise and more concentrated on the mindfulness aspect. One easy way for students to try including mindfulness is by leading them through a few imagery exercises. For example. asking the class to move into a new position while telling them to focus on how the mat feels under their palms and describe the feeling mentally.

By far, the breath is the easiest and hardest part for a student to master. Initially, people tend to disregard how they're breathing unless they're panting hard from exertion. Once they get used to familiar motions, they have to conquer the task of breathing correctly but once it clicks, the process is seamless and the student normally notices a huge shift in their progress from then on out.

I think that cultural appreciation toes the line with cultural appropriation, and the only things that differentiate the two are respect, acknowledgment, and intention. For example, for a close friend's wedding who is Muslim, I dressed modestly and covered my hair and neck with a pashmina when I attended the temple portion of her ceremony. I wore the hijab with the acknowledgment of the significance of the garment to Muslim practices and intending to respect the wishes of the temple and married couple. However, if I were to start claiming the hijab is an accessory or wore it immodestly, I'd be appropriating her culture deeply. Culture can be shared effectively, however, it's too common that it's taken out of the important context behind it and used inappropriately. I think most importantly though, is that we listen to those who have such rich cultures when they say that certain aspects cannot be used or claimed or borrowed by those outside their community.