Editorial Columns

Do What You’ve Always Wanted to Do! The Wonder Years: One of the Best

By: Lauren Wozniak Layout Designer

I recently dyed my hair purple. It is amazing! This was the first time I have ever done something crazy to my hair. The closest I have ever gotten to “crazy” was getting a balayage, which I did this past Fall. I was so nervous to dye my hair a completely different color but then I thought to myself if not now, when? Hair dye is temporary, anyways. I knew I would regret it if I did not dye my hair a fun color while I was still in college. It took some courage but I did it and it was so worth it!

Now I want to encourage you. If there is something you have always wanted to try but have not due to fear, just bite the bullet. Dye or cut your hair the way you have always wanted to or grow your hair out. Get that piercing and wear that clothing style you do not know if you can pull off. You will never know how you will feel about it until you try.

This advice does not just apply to personal style. You can apply this to all aspects of life. Talk to your crush or to that person in your class who you think you could be friends with. Try a crazy new food, go somewhere you have always wanted to go, or pull an all nighter eating junk food and finish binging that show.

Life is too short to be held back by what ifs. I understand that it can be really scary to go outside of your comfort zone but taking that leap can lead you to places you never thought you would go. It is completely worth it!

By: Richie Mroz Layout Designer

The Wonder Years is a TV show that stands the test of time and is a piece of entertainment that I will always love. The Wonder Years, which was released in the 1980s, follows the life of a kid named Kevin Arnold as he grows up in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is important to note that this is a period of time that is similar to the one we are living in now.

The show is narrated by an adult Kevin who recalls stories from his childhood and teenage years. Kevin lives a suburban middle-class life with his parents Jack and Norma and his older brother and sister Wayne and Karen. Each episode tells a story of Kevin’s past by focusing on his family and his adventures with his best friend, Paul and his childhood crush, Winnie. The show demonstrates what it was like living in a time of social change amid the Vietnam War and the trials and struggles of growing up.

“The Hardware Store” is an episode that focuses on Kevin getting his first job at a local hardware store. Another great episode, “Hero,” explains what happens when Kevin’s grades suffer as he spends all of his time idolizing his high school’s star-studded basketball team.

What I love most about the show is how relatable it is and that each episode provides viewers with a lesson to be learned. It makes me reflect on my own life and the times that have passed and the times that are yet to come. This is one of my favorite shows and I encourage you to give it a try. You will not be disappointed!

Ask A Queer Person

“Ask A Queer Person” is a column where people can ask about queer things! Got a question on your mind? Submit it to usfencounter@gmail.com!

Can you describe any gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender people in your life, or in popular culture, that inspired you to be more comfortable with your identity?

One of the trans women I follow on Twitter started a thread to help other trans lesbians accept themselves because the lesbian mast doc kind of only interprets being a lesbian through a cisgendered lens. I never really felt comfortable with who I was until I went through that thread and I experienced a sort of compulsory heterosexuality by claiming I was bisexual, but when I think about it, I really don’t have an attraction to men, so being bi doesn’t explain me well. It’s definitely taken a lot of thought, but that thread that lady posted really helped me feel better and more comfortable with how I identify. - GSA Member

(This is directed towards someone who identifies as transgender) When did you first become familiar with what it means to be transgender?

I don’t really have much of a say when it comes to this, but from the little familiarity I’ve had while not being out completely yet, I really figured out what it meant to be trans when I started following trans women on social media. Albeit I’m not trying to live vicariously through them, I see some of their experiences and I feel for them. There was a lady who posted about being misgendered when she was literally passing. I see their experiences and I know that, that is not what it means to be trans because they also talk about all the euphoric feelings they have when they are treated correctly and people respect their identity. From where I stand with my gender identity and not being out yet, I feel like being trans is like a constant battle of wanting to just be treated with respect from others, but more importantly treating oneself with respect and realizing how far you’ve come from who you were to who you are now. - GSA Member

I would imagine that POC who also identify as a part of the LGBTQ+ community have unique experiences. What kinds of experiences does LGBT-POC have that make their experience distinct from their white counterparts?

There are many ways that queer POC’s experience differ from our white counterparts. However, the one thing that comes to mind the most in this moment is representation. In terms of queer representation in media, it is already lacking and a lot of the time we exist as the sometimes sassy, sometimes unrequited love, sometimes butt of the joke side kick to the main characters. Even in the instances that queer people exist in a tv show or movie, for some reason we’re the only one and if we’re not the only one, the other queer person exists to be our default love interest. For example, in Riverdale (2017) some actors such as Vanessa Morgan have argued that their characters were “…being used as side kick non dimensional characters to [their] white leads,” which is a statement on being the only black regular on the show but also includes the injustice of being portrayed as nothing more than a love interest.

Now seeing as how sparse queer media is and the quality of that media is always up for debate, it’s no surprise that the queer POC representation is also lacking. According to GLAAD’s 2019 overview, 55% of queer media was white and only sexual minorities were seen on the screen, i.e., there were no transgender people to account for. This skew does more than leave queer POCs without someone who looks like them. It gives a lot of people the impression that being queer is a distinctly white thing. Such a misconstruction opens the door to family members and friends thinking that our queer identity is a white thing like a bad habit that rubbed off on us from our white friends. Making it an overall bad thing or something we as POCs don’t have the privilege of being. One of my friends, who also happens to identify as bisexual talked about how homosexuality didn’t originate in Africa (referring to the fact that all human life came from Africa) and that it was a white person’s notion (maybe even impurity) that caused homosexuality. Which is an idea that obviously has a lot to unpack and is also something that our queer white counterparts would never have to deal with because they’ve been made the base model. - E. Porter