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McKayleigh Moore

Abigail Bugh

Arts in the Community

27 November 2023

Arts in the Community: Final Paper

I feel much differently about serving the community compared to the beginning of the

semester. I began with a very open mind, due to the fact that I was taking this course only

because I am required to and had no prior knowledge of this course. I came to class, did the

privilege and class worksheets, said hello to my friends, and genuinely thought that would be just

about all the class consisted of. Immediately after the small speeches about each project, I was

captivated by the Rainbow Leaders Association and the TTU haunted tours. Luckily, I was

assigned to the Rainbow Leaders Association. I got extremely attached to this particular group

and as it just so happens, I have made plans for further involvement for the rest of my time here

at Texas Tech. I was/continue to be amazed by the amount of drive and passion some of my

peers have discovered within themselves recently towards LGBTQ rights and the importance of

inclusion. This course has taught me so much about not only my love for service but my

classmates’ naturally serving hearts. I have seen my peers come alive and I have learned a ton

just by viewing their progress on top of my own. I definitely would struggle being involved in

choreographing events like Frozen Jr or even dressing up as a princess and not breaking

character for 2 hours. It has been incredibly inspiring to be a part of such an amazing class that is

willing to put everything they have into these projects and organizations. The Arts in the
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Community course also brought the concept of peanut butter and jelly racism to my attention as

well. I have learned so much from my organization thus far but I would have to say the

organizational aspects have been extremely influential. I have never been a part of such a “well-

oiled machine” that is this positive and affirming. I love being able to watch Callum gain the

respect of so many people just by being clear and concise with their words and expectations.

They have been a super influential part of this process and I feel extremely lucky to even get to

witness them. Every conversation that is being held or relationship being built is the start of a

successful mission complete. In this, I mean there are lots of people I have interacted with and

while they all have not been “great” per se, they struck a thought of change within myself and

the other person/people involved. I believe that God put me exactly where I need to be to make

an impact on the people around me, and for them to inspire change within myself to constantly

keep me growing. I have met a bunch of different students going through hardships, while

similar, still very different from mine. This can be hard because I hate to see others struggling

with their battle in their sexuality journey. I want to help in any way that I can, but this can get

tough when I am unable to relate to their situation. If I could do any of it differently, I would

probably just go in with more confidence. I felt unqualified to be a part of the program and was

overcompensating by working insanely hard to try to “fit in”. I would go back and encourage

myself to lighten up and enjoy myself more. I would also probably have our videographer, Eric

Flores, come back and do a couple more promotional videos for the program. It was a sensational

morale booster and I feel like it really elevated our platform to reach others at Texas Tech. It

added that sense of belonging our program really aims for and I do not think you can ever have
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too much footage. There were not many goals that I had for our participants. I wanted our email

list to grow and help spread the word and I would say we have exceeded my expectations on

those two things. For the first 3 or 4 events we had 40+ people alone sign up for our

newsletter/email list and have gained several new members because of it. We almost have

enough people to start charging to help fund our goals and be considered a “real”, respected

organization of the University. I wish I would have known how much this class would affect the

way I view those around me. My brain has shifted into a better version of itself, constantly trying

to help others and solve problems. I would consider myself a good person, but this class (and

being a part of my organization of course) has truly opened my eyes to see what changes need to

be made in our society. These thoughts occupy my brain where overthinking and stress used to

take place. I have also discovered that I am becoming a better listener every single day because

of this “call to action”. I love that there is a constant feeling of my job not being done just yet,

and almost believe this class should be a year-long course because of that. I have been placed in

an association that is filled with positivity, but in order to maintain this positivity hard

conversations have to be willing to take place. These small conversations and gestures truly do

have a huge impact on making our community more cohesive. I was not expecting these small

projects to influence me the way they have. I cannot wait to put everything that I have learned

into practice in the upcoming years. I will be attending local theatre performances, donating

small amounts of time in community events, as well as encouraging my friends and colleagues to

do the same.