When looking into what has shaped my belief system and truths, a stand out moment for me was finding out my Uncle was gay after his death. Both my mother’s brother and my mother’s Parents knew the fact that my Uncle was gay. Finding this out was difficult because it kept him from becoming close with my mother, Father, and sisters. It was his belief that he would have been disowned from my mom if he had told her his sexual orientation.

            This shaped me because it not only caused deep sadness for my family, it also showed me that openness and respect are vital for any healthy relationship. I never got to know my uncle and he never got to know me. His untimely and unexpected death forced me to look at my relationship with my sisters, and ultimately led to my belief that sexual orientation, sexuality, mental, and physical health should be discussed, understood, and respected.

            The senses in which I hope to engage are all of them, I am finding it difficult currently, to find definitive and logical options to have my audience feel loss and then understanding, while also putting into play the roles that the ‘taboo’ topic of sexual orientation, sexuality, and mental health have had on me specifically. Possibly in mixing the senses into one object I can create confusion, and in making this object one of a sexual nature (sex toy or something…) I can incorporate the taboo of the implications of being gay did to my family. Also, bringing a sex toy to class will be uncomfortable for everyone making this object a representation of how my uncle felt. However, I don’t feel like this encompasses the entirety of the emotional response I had to this event.