TAKING A STEP BACK. OR FORWARD.

23 July 2018 | by Patryk Cialon

Being aware of privileges we have in our life requires a lot of reflectiveness. However, sometimes things tend to seem so obvious that we ultimately forget how lucky we are to have them.

The first game we had in the morning was a great example of how often we don´t understand the position we are in – not only when it comes to privileges we have but also the ones that aren't present in our lives. When we had to take either step back or forward, depending on whether we relate to the respective privilege, I never imagined how different the starts all of us had are, especially after the previous few days during which those differences were almost completely invisible. The final result of the game was the cause of many different emotions - from shock and surprise to sadness and fury.









We didn't expect the things we experienced during past few days would have such a huge impact on us. In the end, we had to face some misunderstandings and less than positive emotions, but it turned out to be a very important lesson. Change does not focus only on positive things and in many cases we firstly have to deal with difficulties. Being able to understand the problem, however, the roots connected to the things we´ve experienced, finding a solution together - it all felt like a necessary evil. It helped me understand and reflect even more on myself and my surroundings, and rethink the way I used to deal with such situations up until now - keeping everything to myself, letting the negativity completely fill my mind and cause even more misunderstandings. The games we played were supposed to teach us important things about ways privileges can affect one's life but, in the end, it seemed like we missed that point. It's sad to admit that, but what we did get out of it was definitely a good lesson to everyone.










The end of the day brought us the Dinner of Inequalities, during which we were separated into three different social classes based on nothing but luck. This was to show how differently certain things, even the really trivial ones like having a meal, can be experienced depending on how much money one has. We started by obviously showing off the differences between our classes, especially between middle and lower class, but I saw how differently I acted at different points of the meal as a part of the middle class. It started with sharing food with the lower class and ended up in feeling as if they were under my control. Sick but true. Simple things like that really make you think about where and who you more than just once.

" [...] the first step has to be taken individually – you need to understand where you are as to be able to move forward instead of going back. "










To sum it all up – after the few intense days of discussing world issues, it was important for us to have a space to think about what we were doing or could do to improve not only our life, but the lives of people around us. What I learned is the following: the first step has to be taken individually – you need to understand where you are as to be able to move forward instead of going back.

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