Memorable Moments Blog Post

 

Memorable Moments

By: Bridget Dresser

My take-home plate

    While I have many lovely memories from this course, I have to say that my favorite memory was cooking for the banquet. I love cooking, especially when I get to do it with other people, so being a part of a team yesterday was one of the highlights of my semester. Everything smelled and looked so delicious that it was hard to stop myself from nibbling on everything as we made it. I even liked cooking and smelling the foods that I don’t eat because of my pickiness, although I have found that my nose tends to like things more than my tongue does. I loved learning how to braid bread, which is much simpler than I thought it would be, despite my struggles in the beginning. I also got to use a professional kitchen for the first time, so I felt like a kid in a candy store. 

    If I’m being honest, I originally took this course because I thought the final banquet seemed fun to be a part of, and it filled my religion minor requirement. However, over the course of the semester, I grew an increasing appreciation for the content and the class environment. Being able to go to class every week and engaging in thoughtful conversations about the nature of the universe from so many perspectives brought me a level of introspection I wasn’t expecting. I really had to sit with why I believe the things I believe, and why I worship the way I do, because I actually had to be able to answer those questions. Again, not in an overbearing or persecutory way, but in a way where the people I was talking to also wanted to understand my beliefs and where I’m coming from instead of just trying to change my mind. No one had ever asked me questions about my beliefs, let alone asked me to explain or justify my style of worship, because they simply didn’t want to hear what I had to say.  

    Inversely, I had never been able to ask many of the questions that I yearned to in an environment where I didn’t feel like asking a question was invalidating or offending someone. As a person raised outside of mainstream religion, I was always left out of things relating to religion as a child, and even in my earlier years at college as a religion minor. My stance as a neo-pagan drew a rift between me and my peers because everyone thought I was trying to be quirky or edgy by being a pagan, so no one engaged with anything I said about it. While my wanting to be quirky and edgy isn’t inherently untrue, that isn’t why I follow the religion that I do. My goal in discussing my paganism is never to make myself seem like the black sheep of the group or to make myself seem special compared to anyone else. Especially in my religion courses, all I’ve ever wanted to do is just be able to fully participate and not feel left out of the discourse because I didn’t get a reference to one of the big three that no one felt like they needed to explain. This class really turned my previous experiences on their heads, and I’m so happy I got to be a part of it, especially if this might be the last time it’s offered.