How old are you and are you generally doing things that are consistent with your age cohort (e.g., being single vs having a relationship, having a family, being in school vs having a job, having a home)? Does age likely make you different from or similar to other folks in a college class?

somewhat thorough description of yourself that touches on all these parameters…. Just a few lines about each variable should be ample to get you “reflecting” on that specific matter, but that will likely add up to a couple of pages. Do note that many questions will ask you to imagine a comparison, but that the comparison group changes across questions. Importantly, be sure and read the response instructions (below) before you start writing anything as some of it you keep for later and some you submit now.
Sex – Are you biologically male or female (or prefer a more fluid option)? Compared to others of the same biological sex are you more masculine or feminine than most? How often are you made aware that you differ from others in terms of sex or gender?
Age – How old are you and are you generally doing things that are consistent with your age cohort (e.g., being single vs having a relationship, having a family, being in school vs having a job, having a home)? Does age likely make you different from or similar to other folks in a college class?
Race – What race do you consider yourself, and how much do you identify with a race in your daily life? How often are you made aware of your race by others? How often, and to what degree (work in a group with, socialize with, are friends with, would date, etc) do you fraternize with people outside your race?
Ethnicity – Is there an ethnic group beyond your race that you identify with? This could be current (e.g., Texan, Cajun, Southerner) or also more ancestral (Italian, Scottish, etc). Do you take pride in this group — perhaps by eating certain foods or remembering certain traditions and events? Do you feel an implicit trust or a kinship with other folks (beyond your family) just because of a shared ethnicity? In many cases ethnicity is marked by language (such as an accent). Do you have an accent that others ever remark on? Do you take pride in that as well?
Income – Did you grow up better-off or worse-off financially than most of your peers? How often were you made aware of this as you grew up? What about now — would you imagine that your current standard of living is about the same as most of your classmates? If not, is it better than how most other college students live or not as good?
Religion – Are your beliefs generally accepted as a common practice in your community, or do they set you apart as a minority?
Sexual Orientation – Is your sexual orientation likely the same or different from most of your classmates? Do you want others to know your sexual orientation, and why or why not? How often does your sexual orientation impact some other aspect of your daily life?
Politics – Do you align with either of the major political parties in America today? Is it the same party that typically wins elections in your local community? Would sharing your political views with others ever make you uncomfortable, and if so, in what context and why?
Abilities/Disabilities – Do you have any biological features that statistically would set you apart from most of your classmates? Perhaps you are very tall, very short, left-handed, red-haired, big-footed, anxiety or depression prone, deaf, bald, have a chronic illness, etc. These could be positive features — maybe you are a gifted athlete, or vocalist, or have an exceptionally high IQ. How do you “manage” the presentation of these differences?
Skills/Deficits – What sort of things can you do (and not do) as compared to most college students? For example, maybe you can play the piano or fluently speak several languages. Conversely, maybe you don’t drive or you don’t use a cell-phone to text. How do these skills and deficits invite others to perceive you? Do these things make you feel different in any significant way?
Vices – Do you routinely engage in any activities that your community frowns upon? One obvious example might be tobacco use, but in other contexts drinking alcohol, dancing, eating meat, using recreational drugs, gambling, engaging in non-marital sex, etc may all be things your friends and family would not endorse. How do you try and reconcile these behaviors with remaining accepted by your community (or friends and family)?
Interests – What interests really define you? As examples, maybe you are a Cowboys fan who would never (never) miss watching a game while wearing your lucky (and unwashed) Dak (or Aikman) jersey, or maybe you know all there is to know about the Game of Thrones in the world of Westeros and beyond. Something — anime, bass fishing, computer games, dogs, eating gourmet foods, furries, going mountain climbing, the history of ancient Rome, Indian movies, John Wayne movies, King Kong movies, listening to music, listening to NPR, old cars, political news shows, Ren faires, sex, tennis, underwater diving, vacationing to new places, wood working, yoga, whatever, is your thing. Actually, most folks have multiple hobbies and interests that they are so into that others may find it a bit… much. So, how much time do you spend on interests that most folks don’t share with the same passion you have? How do you feel about that?
Now, create and submit a Response that 1) affirms you have found and read the syllabus and 2) that talks about some of the ways your own answers to these questions illustrate how diverse humans actually are. Do not (Not, NOT, NOT!) send me the answers to all of these matters. That said, pick a couple of examples that you are willing to share about how this exercise made you aware of your own diversity. I would prefer that you draw on something that this assignment perhaps called your attention to in some genuine way, and not something trivial (e.g., I am taller than most people so I have a hard time buying clothes off the rack at JC Penny, or, My friends all think I am sooooo weird because I like 80s music).
Additionally — in a (new, different, separate) paragraph post a description of yourself that you want to share with the class to the Discussion section for this unit. Do not (Not, NOT, NOT!) post the answers to all of the matters listed above. I assume you have had to Introduce yourself before, maybe even in other online courses, so just provide what you usually would say but do feel free to reflect on what you learned (or thought about) from this exercise in self-description.
IMPORTANT. Do keep all of what you wrote here. In many subsequent tasks you will add to or modify the personal description that you started here today. ALSO — keep a copy of whatever you do post to the class discussion as we will revisit it later in the course as well.

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