It was the beginning of second semester, my junior year of high school. My school worked on a block schedule (four classes every quarter; each one lasted an hour and a half), and I had an empty block for fourth quarter after a schedule change. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with it, other than the definitive “no” to Lifeguard Training and Team Sports (I can’t swim, and I wasn’t interested in another gym credit). My counselor showed me several other options: most of them were English credits, which I loved and was completely for. However, I wasn’t sure what to choose…

…until he offered me a class entitled “Women’s Literature,” taught by one of my favorite teachers to this day. I was instantaneously hooked from that combination of subject and scholar; I thought it would be interesting to see what we studied, and my bookworm heart couldn’t wait to receive that reading list. The only slight wariness I had was due to the fact that I would be the only junior in a class of seniors, but that couldn’t overshadow my shy excitement for it.

Come to find out, I was vastly underestimating how much taking Women’s Literature would alter my viewpoints, passions, and even personality. Truly, that course changed my mind and my life for the better.

See, I’ve come to understand that a shocking number of people view “Women’s Literature” as something of a feminist agenda, some pushing of a deranged viewpoint. There’s a history behind why that bias exists, though I can’t understand why it has a retention today. Regardless, that’s not at all what Women’s Lit. is. It’s a combination class: gender studies, ethics, and literature are the main three interwoven into it. Yes, we read books written by women, but that never means that it’s not universal—much like a male author can be related to by all, so can a female author. The class exists due to the fact that women have a much more difficult time—historically and presently—breaking into a popular audience within the writing field. These novels and essays come to light to both illustrate their experiences and views, and to provide thoughts, information, and lessons that are relatable across humanity. At its core, that’s why the class exists.

But that’s not why taking this class changed my life. No. It’s because it inspired me.

Within Women’s Lit., we discussed not only how society affects females across time and the globe, but how it affects males, too. Every single thing we establish as a norm in society somehow enhances or degrades one or both genders, all people, and it’s so important to realize that. I’ve become ten times more aware of what I’m thinking, what I’m saying, what I’m doing, because of this class. It helped me consciously realize that I have an impact on everyone, regardless of how small it is. We need to be aware of whether we’re conforming or not, and figure out whether that’s a good or bad thing (it’s not inherently one or the other). As a performer, that’s an incredibly beneficial revelation: being aware of how people function around one another and how that’s helping and harming them is crucial. But as a human being, it’s even better. It helps us understand where we are all coming from, even when we’re irritated by those few people on that one specific day.

Similarly, Women’s Lit. taught me to always be aware, always be involved in whatever way you can be. The class was big into discussion. At the beginning of every block, Ms. Dutton would ask who had something to share that was happening in the world. We would spend a good half hour discussing the current events and social activism happening, anywhere from the latest video on beauty standards for men to an article illustrating statistics for how awful the treatment of criminal cases was. It helped get me into one of my passions to this day: government and politics, and activism, no matter how small it is. I became more attentive to what was occurring in the world around me; I know my classmates did, too. That’s something that has stayed with me to this day. I consistently make sure that I’m at least somewhat informed about what is happening, and I try to know as much about everything as I can. And what a great trait to be improving on, yeah? Imagine if every single one of us paid attention even a little bit more to the bigger picture, to how our world was working and why it was going that way. I think we could all agree that humanity would improve by a lot. Maybe each of us should take a Women’s Lit. class!

Outside of awareness, though, Women’s Literature gave me improved confidence. As a junior in a predominantly senior class (including several guys: remember what I said about it being both sides? You can picture a conspiratorial smile here.), I learned to use my voice. I came to be confident in my own mind and my own opinions, finding sureness in the fact that viewpoints can totally be malleable. I’ve grown to adore having discussions in class; nothing makes me feel better than having a long, intellectual, deep conversation with another person. I learned that every single one of us has a voice that can be as powerful as any celebrity’s or politician’s. Each of us—myself included—can use our voices for something as small as making someone’s day or as big as passing a law. Change can be enacted by each one of us, so long as we’re educated in what’s happening and confident enough to say it. Disagreement is good: it means we’re getting somewhere.

I owe all of this to Ms. Dutton’s Women’s Lit. class. It can sound a little crazy, I’m sure, but Women’s Literature is so much more than the literality in the title. I would recommend it to anyone, of any gender or background. It crosses all of the barriers. I’m convinced that, if this class would be more commonly offered and more commonly accepted, we would all be the better because of it. Thank you, Ms. Dutton, for providing me with the wisdom, encouragement, and curriculum to learn all of that. I’m forever indebted for it.

Therefore, the next time you see this pop up on your schedule options, don’t roll your eyes and skip past it. Give it a chance: it will truly change you for the better.