As a white cisgender man, Eric Peterson has been the beneficiary of a great deal of privilege, and yet there are a few areas in his life in which he’s experienced less power. Being gay, atheist, and single, he’s met people who want to change or “fix” him, and he’s been in a few situations where he’s encountered people who hate him, where he felt truly unsafe. And while he will never really know what it is like to be a person of color, a trans person, or a woman, Peterson can access the few experiences he’s had as "a window, not a door" into the experiences of others. In other words, he can use his self-awareness to increase his awareness of others' experiences. He can (silently and quietly) center his own life story as an avenue to decenter himself when encountering racism, sexism, ableism, cisgenderism, and other forms of injustice.