Exploring behind procrastination

Hey everyone. I'm happy to report that I submitted the two major projects from this weekend since yesterday's blog was on a little cliffhanger. I did have a moment when working on one of the projects (okay, it was technically mustering up the motivation after a break, but it still fits in with the story), where I thought "you know what, this makes sense". I don't feel like I can give my ideas the justice they deserve.

Let's look at my last project as an example. I wanted to explore the mental health issues LGBT students experienced by conflicting identities while attending religiously affiliated institutions. Other people in the class told me it was a great idea, but I just didn't feel like I could give the subject justice. Okay, there was a short time frame for the assignment and with work and all yadda yadda yah. That's not the point I'm trying to go for though.

I don't identify as LGBT and so I feel like my perspective can go have so much insight into my original topic before it turns into speculation. I don't know what it feels like to be harassed based on my sexual orientation and cyberbullying wasn't something that followed me beyond the school grounds. This is a little less significant, but I also attended public schools from kindergarten to college so I don't know the student experience with enrolling at a religious school.

I equate my feelings of inadequate experience to writing a book where the main character is drastically different than me. There's only so far I can go before I feel like I'm back on speculation, which seems much more susceptible to stereotyping and over-generalizing. Fortunately, I don't need to write a piece of literature that could reach across the globe, but I still want my little presentation to be sound and authentic.

At this point, I'm not sure how I can overcome this fear. I know that researchers study others that have different identities all the time. The same may go for books for a little bit, but at the same time, I know literature can often be filled with heterosexual White males as main characters. So, if you have any advice, I'd certainly appreciate it. For now, though, rest. It was a long night yesterday.

Tomorrow will be Fudge Day and Ladies' Day with Baseball, but don't forget about Bloomsday for all you James Joyce fans out there. 

DFTBA