In Bloom and Me Reflection

Jordyn Pressley

WGST 2310

This year’s In Bloom event was especially important to me as I was able to speak to

many young girls about the importance of forming and keeping healthy relationships throughout

their lives. Even though I wasn’t able to talk to them about the particular topic of healthy sexual

relationships and how they should use proper sex ed to benefit their relationships, I was able to

connect with them on a more basic level and promote small steps of starting healthy friendships

and acquaintances. I would like to believe this information can be utilized by all of the girls who

attended to bridge the gap and help them form healthy sexual relationships when the time comes.

Furthermore, I was importantly able to give them the tools that they needed to start thinking

about what signs they need to look out for and how it is important to accept yourself above all

else when considering which friends are optimal. This was information that I was unfortunately

not given and while this only was meant to apply to platonic relationships, I feel as though a lot

of the things that were mentioned during our sessions can be the same for romantic relationships.

I would like to think that I could sit down and talk to children about exploring their

sexuality and understanding their romantic relationships, but I’m not sure that the conversation

would be appropriate coming from me, someone who is not a professional. I am, however, very

passionate about this topic as it will be addressed when I begin my career path as I join the

workforce. I believe that if my Multi-Genre Project were to be incorporated into In Bloom, the

discussion would have to be carried out by someone with experience in the field, like a school

counselor or someone like Leslie Dill. With the overall message of self-love and self-
understanding being promoted through our different discussions, I feel like trying to make

corrections on their perceived sexual education is simply out of place. Furthermore, as the topic

involves religion, I am not sure that the adults in the room, some of which who may believe in

such religious practices, would appreciate bringing it up for discussion.

Overall, my experience with In Bloom was positive. I would have liked to have more one

on one connection, but I feel as though I was able to effectively get my message across with my

group and provide young girls with information that would prove useful as they finish middle

school and enter high school. Additionally, I feel as though I was able to get my message across

about proper relationships and body conduct without specifically talking about sexual education.

As we talked about what to look for in oneself and others, I felt that the concept of sexual contact

or a romantic relationship was something they could use our information with on their own

without it having to be explicitly stated. I was able to encourage the young girls to learn things

on their own, to learn things as they see fit, something that I hope will be remembered when they

start to form romantic connections with others.