Where You Invest Your Love

by e.gallagher / 8. May 2013 04:36

Mumford & Sons is one of my favorite bands. When beginning my AV year, I was obsessed with the song “Awake My Soul”. I found the lyrics to be inspiring and motivating as I entered into this new experience that is a year of service. My AV position is at Merrimack College so in many ways my service year is coming to end this week. Students are completing finals and moving back home for the summer. And while I will have much to do after they leave, the students are the biggest and most important part of my job. As I say my goodbyes, I’ve been reflecting a lot on where God has been present to me this year. 

My favorite line from Awake My Soul goes: “Where you invest your love, you invest your life.” And looking back on my experiences, I couldn’t find truer words. The students I have worked with over the course of this year have taken my heart. I am fully invested in their lives, how they do in school, what friendships they build, and most importantly, how they find God in themselves and the world around them. We have a saying in Campus Ministry, “Our interruptions are our work.” Students often find their way to my office to say hi and chat about their days often interrupting my emails and paperwork but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Forming relationships with students, helping them in any way I can, building trust and fellowship, is the most important aspect of my job. They are where I see God most often. I see Him in their questions and queries, I see Him in their ability to bring out the best in me without even trying, I see Him in their selflessness and service to others. God is ever present in my day to day interactions with these students. Working at Merrimack College has opened my eyes to how God is intermixed into every piece and particle of my day. 

In March, I advised an Alternative Spring Break trip to Camden, NJ. While there, I heard this quote: “How can I love a God I do not see, if I do not love the people I do see.” My faith has always been something I tried to share through service but never did I think that service could be the entirety of my life. Every day I can choose to reflect the love of God through my actions whether it be with the woman taking my coffee order, the student in my office, or the homeless man I serve a meal to. The year has really shown me how present God is in the little things and in order to love Him to the fullest, I must love those around me with all I have. I must invest my love to invest my life. Many times in my life, I have been hesitant to give everything I have to God and in turn to others. I worry I won’t have enough energy, I won’t have enough time, I will run out of love to give. But as I continue to challenge myself in this respect; I have found that the more I give, the more I receive. I always find the energy I need, the time to take, and the love to give.  As my students prepare to head home, I realize how much I have received from them and how my soul has truly been awakened by this experience.

Emma Gallagher

Lawrence, MA 2012-2013

Tags:

Domestics 2012-2013

Intentional Community Life

by c.davis / 6. May 2013 04:55

“We live in Perú!” This thought randomly came to me a few weeks ago while I was in the bathroom (you’re welcome for the visual), and I shouted it to Britt and Lacie, my community members. We’re not just here for a week or a month visiting or working or volunteering…we live here. We have now been here for about three and a half months and we’ve been living in our house as a community for over two months. We’ve learned a lot from each other by living in community. I expected to learn about Britt and Lacie…I mean we got thrown together last August and were told you’ll be living together in a foreign country for a year…instant best friends. We joke that it was like an arranged marriage. But what I didn’t expect was how much I was about to learn about myself.

Living intentionally in community has taught me how I communicate, when I need to take initiative to get things done and not procrastinate, how to confide in my community members, how I work in a team, and much more. I expected to become great friends with my community, to the point where I could tell you that Lacie will break out into song and/or dance at least once every day, can knit fingerless gloves with pictures of llamas on them (oh yeah, that happened!), will eat anything as long as you tell her there are some form of potatoes in it, and gets her expansive vocabulary (in English and Spanish) and massive amount of random knowledge from her love for getting lost in books. And Britt, well she will never have the same color nail polish on both of her feet, can listen to people’s dilemmas for hours without saying one thing about anything she is dealing with, can pretty much make a great cocktail with any ingredients found in the house, and will wake up at 5 AM just to get in a workout before she goes to teach. What I did not anticipate was the amount of self-discovery I would encounter by living, serving, laughing, praying, cooking, learning, playing, exercising, cleaning, and crying with my community.

I knew the three of us would be spending a lot of time together here. We are constantly together. I’m leaving tomorrow to go on a two-day trip with my service site to the campo and we are seriously anticipating withdrawal symptoms! But really, we do a lot together. But one thing I did not think about before coming to Perú was the difference in spending time together and intentionally being together as a community. We’ve realized that although we are attached at the hips, we can work of finding more time to spend intentionally with one another. I didn’t anticipate having to plan time to be together as a community, since we are living together and all. However, since adding in more prayer time, weekly Spanish study sessions, one-on-one time with each other, and weekly community fun time, I recognize the difference in being intentionally present to each other rather than just being together. In some ways community life has been everything I expected, but in other ways my eyes have been opened to things I didn’t expect coming into this year. We are constantly adjusting and finding out how to learn from and challenge each other to make this a great experience for all of us. 

Chantelle Davis
Perú, 2013

 

Tags:

Internationals 2013

United in Mind and Heart

by b.daniels / 14. April 2013 16:42

As I sat comfortably on the sofa during the first day of orientation, the Director announced, “You have all been afforded the opportunity to serve this year. And you had better believe it is an opportunity--you are all extremely lucky to be sitting here today.” I remember being taken aback for a second. It was probably the first time I had begun a service experience where I was not simply being reaffirmed of my good nature or thanked for committing myself to the betterment of others. Though I may not have realized it at the time, that was exactly what I needed to hear going into this year.

Indeed, back when I was beginning my last semester of college, I considered attending graduate school, taking a full-time job, or pursuing a year of post-graduate service. I eventually chose to dedicate myself to the Augustinian Volunteers. Service has always been a large part of my life, and during this time of life transition, a year of post-graduate volunteering seemed like the best avenue for growth. Going into the program, what I knew for sure was that I would be serving full-time at a legal services agency and I would be living with two other volunteers in “community.” At the time, I did not realize all that the term community could encompass, but I can now say with confidence that it is much of the reason that I more fully understand what it means to desire to live a life in pursuit of justice.

In the Augustinian tradition, community is where people unite in “mind and heart.” Each night my community members and I share dinner, stories, and life experiences. We serve as volunteers in different organizations, but what binds us together is our commitment to create a more compassionate world. The idea of community is not only exemplified in my home life; it is embedded deeply into my service site as well. Each day, I work as a homeownership pro bono case manager for the LawWorks Team at Philadelphia VIP, one of the largest pro bono legal services agencies in the country. When I first joined the office, I was surprised to find that there are only about fifteen full-time staff members. Despite so few employees, however, thousands of clients are assisted each year. It helped me realize that the work that I am doing can--and does--have a momentous impact.

Sometimes that impact manifests itself on a very basic, human level. For instance, during a recent conversation with a client whose mortgage payments were being refused by her lender, I explained that I was not an attorney and thus could only offer her limited legal advice. She sighed, and while I prepared myself for her disappointment, she actually replied, “You’re listening to me, and that’s all I can ask for.” I was instantly reminded of that first day of orientation. This was the kind of opportunity that was afforded by our service--the kind of opportunity we are fortunate to have.

During my time in service thus far this year, I have constantly been inspired: by the stories my community members share, by my coworkers’ commitment to justice for the under-served, and by the work that our volunteer pro bono attorneys do on a daily basis. They give countless hours of their time to assist low-income clients who otherwise would go without necessary legal representation. This is the reason I want to enter into the field of public interest law. I want to join a community of lawyers who are trained and skilled, yet passionate about combatting social justice issues that challenge so many peoples’ access to legal aid services. This year has afforded me an opportunity to unite in “mind in heart” with my community members, coworkers, clients, and volunteer attorneys – and I am truly blessed to be able to experience this sense of community on a myriad of levels.

Brittany Daniels

Philadelphia, PA 2012-2013

Tags:

Domestics 2012-2013

New Year, New Perspective

by s.essaied / 8. April 2013 06:28

I’m sure it comes as no surprise that life as an Augustinian Volunteer in San Diego this year has challenged my understanding of the world around me and of my place within it. Living under such completely new circumstances has, gratefully so, allowed me to think outside the box just a little more and gain new perspectives on many things that I never once thought twice about. One question that I have been asked repeatedly this year and that has constantly been at the back of my mind is “Where have you seen God at your service site?” I work at Hogar Infantil La Gloria, a home for orphaned, abused, neglected, and abandoned children located in the outskirts of Tijuana, Mexico. Before this year, my answer to the above question would have been run-of-the-mill and even thoughtless. Perhaps I would have responded with “in church” or “in those whom I love and care about.” While God can certainly be seen in all of those things, I have learned that he is also present in not-so-obvious ways, and more importantly, in almost everything, if you look for him. Suffice it to say that my definition of God has changed a bit this year, and for the better. I see the face of God in the 34 beautiful children of Hogar Infantil. I see him when they laugh, smile, play, dance, sing, and run carefree across the playground. I see God in the little things. I see God when the older children happily take care of the younger children, their “younger siblings”, and wipe the tears from their faces after they fall and scrape their knees. Most of all, I see God in the way the kids readily and freely open up and let people into their lives after all of the pain and hurt they’ve experienced throughout their young lives. 

My opinions and attitude on the meaning of success have also altered this year. One of my frustrations, and perhaps a blessing in disguise, this year has been finding my place at the orphanage.  From the beginning, I knew I loved going to work each day and spending time with such amazing kids. But I didn’t feel like I was making much of a difference in the lives of these children at all. I didn’t know what it was exactly that I was doing or what I was accomplishing. I did, however, know why I was doing it, why I was going to work each day. I wrote earlier about how my perspective on a lot of things has changed over the course of the year. Before, I equated serving others with doing active, hands-on work, in which you can clearly see tangible results. Then I learned about the ministry of presence. It took me a few months to realize that my job is more than just to help the kids with homework after school and teach the babies their colors. My job is to serve the kids through love and to simply be there for them and be there with them. I have come to learn that, although I’m not exactly building houses for the homeless or radically changing lives, I’m actively serving the kids by loving them and making a difference in small ways everyday.  The kids might not remember how to conjugate irregular verbs in English, but they will always remember the love and protection they felt from their family at Hogar Infantil. 

One of the things that I am most proud of this year is my ability and willingness to change how I see the world. Because I’ve been able to gain different points of view, I’ve gotten so much more out of this year of service and have received more from the kids than I could ever give in return. I’ve learned that even if I get frustrated with not being able to change or fix everything around me for the better, I can at least let change happen in me. 

Sarah Essaied

San Diego, CA 2012-2013

Tags:

Domestics 2012-2013

An "old-fashioned seeker"

by s.hoegen / 23. March 2013 17:01

I write a lot. I write in my various journals multiple times a day. I write letters to family and friends who are far away. I write notes on things I come across hoping  they might help someone with something someday (sometimes I even hoard letters that I write to friends). Mostly I write narratives, sometimes in bullet points, occasionally in poetic form, or on those days when sentences do not make sense, I just write words. I write about moments, videos, actions, articles, ideas, quotations, feelings, pictures, memories, love, prayers, truth, God, and faith; well, really I guess I write about “life”. I used to keep a blog and I used to share my other writings, but I have grown more private, realizing that it is easier to keep these things close to me. My faith journey was on that same semi-isolationist path until this year. 

I pray a lot. I pray at all times of the day. I see God as this all-encompassing force that surrounds me, breaks me, keeps me, loves me, challenges me, and makes me whole. I pray to thank Him, to ask Him for help, to question Him, to question life, to praise the wonder of His world and creation, and on those tough days to remind myself that He is all-encompassing, because some days I get really lost and forget. I pray about what I write about “life.”  I used to think that prayer had to be formal (you know, Hail Marys, Our Fathers, Glory Bes...), but I found that that did not cut it for me and my spiritual relationship with God--I thought maybe Catholicism had it all wrong. 

I explore a lot. There is so much more that I want to write about, to pray about, to understand about “life.”  I also start a lot of explorations or projects and forget about many of them. I say this because for a while I considered my faith and spirituality to be projects (and rightfully so) because, for most of my college years, my spirituality was something I actively explored primarily through (you guessed it) projects. I minored in religious studies, joined prayer groups, attended Muslim Student Association activities, explored Asian religions, attended services  at different Christian and non-denominational churches, sat on spirituality committees, attended and led retreats, volunteered domestically and while I studied abroad, led a spiritually driven humanitarian aid group, practiced yoga regularly, and still attended weekly Catholic Mass. I started and stopped a lot of these exploratory projects and decided that maybe one really big exploratory project just might be the ticket to solving my issues with spirituality and Catholicism: a post-baccalaureate year serving as an Augustinian Volunteer.  

This year, I am starting to share a lot. Life as an Augustinian Volunteer is all about sharing, but not just about sharing stuff (money, cars, food, couches, etc). It’s about sharing my writings, my prayers, my explorations, and my projects so far. My Augustinian Volunteer year is about challenging the ways I have already tried to seek and opening my heart to live and understand how others (my community members, co-workers, students, friends, etc) seek. Through sharing my writings, prayers, and explorations in Ventura so far I have realized that although I may not be solid and sound in understanding just what my spirituality is, I still have something to share. This year has challenged my whole idea about what it means to be spiritual; It has allowed me to grow in my spirituality, to explore what it means to be faith-filled. This year has allowed me to keep writing. This year has allowed me to keep praying. And, most importantly, this year has allowed me to keep seeking what gives me life. Sometimes I still feel lost, but I have become comfortable in the fact that maybe I am just always going to be an “old-fashioned seeker.” 

Sara Alison Hoegen 

Ventura, CA 2012-2013

Tags:

Domestics 2012-2013

Stop. Collaborate and Listen.

by y.ashrawi / 18. March 2013 10:20

Am I about start singing a Vanilla Ice song or discuss my year thus far as an Augustinian Volunteer? I’ll save the singing for later. Before I moved to Chicago to begin this year of service I lived with roommates, I held jobs that required working with other, I played team sports, etc. I had this whole ‘working together’ thing down, right? Wrong. Living in an intentional community and working at my service site with Catholic Charities has shed a light what it actually means. One of the most profound lessons I attended in college discussed Catholic Social Teaching, and more specifically, the idea that we are not created as solitary beings. Catholic or not Catholic, there is much to be said for community and sharing yourself with others. Although the lesson stuck with me that day, I didn’t witness its impact on my life personally until this year.

As I met the three strangers that I would be living with for the next year I thought, “Well this should be sufficiently awkward…” I was overwhelmed with anxiousness and trying to anticipate what the living situation would be like. Much to my pleasant surprise, we all began discussing how we want our community to function right away. This seemed to always take us back to the need for open and honest communication. I knew this wouldn’t be too difficult for me to do with regards to day-to-day things. What about when it gets personal? As someone who tended to be more private and less able to readily discuss what I’m thinking or feeling, I knew this would be a pivotal part of my year. A make-or-break, if you will. So I made the decision to try. I made the decision to make myself vulnerable to those who would be surrounding me with love and understanding for the next ten months.

My roommates and I get along phenomenally. I'm not saying we're perfect. I'm not saying we don't have our pet peeves or get irritated at times. But we love each other. We accept each other. And we support each other. I firmly believe that we wouldn't have the same relationship and effective collaboration otherwise. We don't view ourselves as for individuals, but rather as a solitary unit.

Living in community has challenged me in many ways but the one I appreciate the most is being pushed to give more of myself. I could have fought it and been closed off all year. But what kind of experience would I get out of that? It would not have been the same kind of enriching year I’ve had thus far.

Ice is back with a brand new invention. Something grabs ahold of me tightly.

Community.

 

Yara Ashrawi

Chicago, IL 2012-2013

Tags:

Domestics 2012-2013

An African Year

by b.manning / 1. March 2013 05:06

The first month of my year as an Augustinian Volunteer in South Africa has gone for the most part, very smoothly. Although I had just a few expectations, and only visualized certain areas in my head like St. Leo’s, the Aids Respite in Hillcrest, and the view from our property, I have realized that this is probably the greatest, most beautiful place I have ever been. 

Father Frank and Father Jack picked the three of us up at the airport and drove us to our home in Botha’s Hill. As soon as we got to the property, they suggested that we wait to unpack and told us to go and look at the view of the Valley of 1000 Hills. I’ll never forget Jimmy, Caitlin, and I linking arms and staring out in amazement at what we were seeing. I’ll also never forget Jimmy saying, “Look at that depth,” and I couldn’t help but chuckle a few, and respond back repeating “Whoa, look at that depth…,” while not really know what I was saying. 

However, there is so much more here in South Africa than just a pretty view. There have been a number of people, students, and co-workers, who have welcomed us and made this place our home for the next year. In particular, I am very thankful for our neighbors, the Augustinians. Both Father Frank and Father Jack have been a very important influence in our lives, as well as Father Kevin, who is visiting on his sabbatical from Ireland. 

The Augustinians gladly showed us the lay of the land and have offered their best advice on what places to visit and what to do. The weekly dinners with them bring out the best cooking in us, and allow us to unwind a little bit more when it is their turn to cook. Whether we’re driving out of the property, and it is a friendly wave hello, or when we get back to the house after a day of work, and I open the door, only to see a TIME magazine on the handle. Even today, I saw that the pool was drained and that they had hired the pool cleaner to come and clean it. I can’t help, but smile and think to myself: the Augustinians get it done… they take care of business. 

The greatest example of them taking caring of business was when Caitlyn and I were driving home from St. Leo’s and the car caught on fire. After exiting, (in one motion: unbuckling the seatbelt, opening up the door, and jumping out of the car), the first person I thought to call was Father Frank or Father Jack. What seemed like just a few minutes, Father Frank had left lunch and had come down to help us. Although it sounds dramatic with the car catching on fire, it really was not that big of deal due to Father Frank’s swiftness and helpfulness, and Father Jack and Father Kevin’s relaxed and joking manner during the whole situation.

It is moments like this where I am very appreciative of having the Augustinians as neighbors. For me, it seems that Father Frank and Father Jack are a perfect balance in my life, and I look forward to furthering my relationship with them for the rest of the year. 

Brian Manning

South Africa 2013

Tags:

Internationals 2013

If anything, high school boys are entertaining

by k.mcaloon / 17. February 2013 07:36

Being a young female, walking through swarms of teenage boys everyday can be a bit intimidating. Before my year as an Augustinian Volunteer, I had minimal experience working with high school aged kids, especially high school boys. So when I was placed at St. Augustine High School, an all-boys Catholic high school, I was a little apprehensive. I was sure they’d all think I was weird or unrelatable. But in the past 6 or so months I have been at Saints, I have been warmly welcomed and have love every day I spend there. 

My favorite part of my service site has been simply getting to know my students everyday and spending time with them. The Campus Ministry office where I work is a bit of a hangout spot on campus. I like to think it’s because the students really like me and my coworkers, but really it’s more because of our comfortable couches and the candy bowl that’s always fully stocked on my desk. 

Our office is constantly filled with kids, before school, between classes (and during classes- high school boys go through a lot to try and skip class), at lunch, and after school. It’s a relatively small office and the maximum number I’ve counted in there at one time is 16 students. Understandably, it’s a hard environment to actually get real work done in due to the constant mass of boys who stand over me begging to use my printer to print last minute homework or to look up a “hilarious” youtube video. While I have a handful of what I like to call “Campus Ministry Regulars”, the 6 or so students who are constantly there, a lot of other students occasionally stop by to “say hi”, aka get candy. Therefore, I get the whole range of the student body in my office. A lot of times, students other than my regulars will stop in to pick up a permission slip or service hour form and they’ll end up staying and talking with us till the end of lunch.  

It’s these seemingly mundane conversations that I’ve enjoyed most about my job. Since I’m significantly younger than any other faculty and since I’m a female (which there is an immediate apparent lack of females on our campus), the students tend to tell me a lot. I hear everything: from girlfriend drama, to which teachers they hate, to what someone tweeted last night, to why they are grounded this weekend. Every conversation I have allows me to get to know them a little more, which is something they don’t always get from their regular teachers. I love that they feel comfortable enough talking to me, and even though I don’t always have advice, I hope a listening ear helps. I hope that my age can be relatable to them, I remember the stress they have right now, like the nerve wracking wait for college acceptance letters. And although I frequently find myself saying cliché adult things, such as “you’re never going to be able to get away with that in college!”, I hope they take that a little more seriously coming from someone who was just in college and knows exactly what you can get away with. 

Working with high school boys can be interesting. When people ask my how my students are, I almost say they’re entertaining. I’m constantly laughing at the things they come up with and the ridiculous things they do. They often ended up laughing back at me being so entertained by them. But I truly enjoy the time I spend with my students. 

Although my job description only describes the 7 retreats I plan throughout the year, my job is so much more than that. The everyday experiences I have there with students are the things I will remember most. I’ll remember the conversations I had and the relationships I formed. And I don’t think any job I have from now on will ever be as fun and absurd as working with teenage boys.  

Katie McAloon

San Diego, CA 2012-2013

Tags:

Domestics 2012-2013

"Where do I see God at work?"

by k.winner / 3. February 2013 12:55

“Where do you see God at work?” This question, though simple in construction, can be a rather complex question. Some may find it easy to answer and may encounter the answer daily. Others may struggle to answer this question and may not see the answer very often. For me, it was a question that I had never reflected on before; so when it was first asked of me, I had to really think…”Where do I see God at work?”

Being in the city of Philadelphia, it can sometimes be hard to see God at work in the city of Brotherly Love; some may ask where He is when the city averaged one murder a day in 2012. However, when you look beyond the violence that afflicts this city, and truly see the beauty it holds, it becomes easier to see God and His works. As I reflect on the past five months of my AV experience, I realize I have seen God at work on many occasions through my service site, ADROP. The name alone, The Augustinian Defenders of the Rights of the Poor, expresses God’s presence in the work that those I work with and myself do daily, week after week. The service I do through ADROP allows me to see the many different people and cultures that make up Philadelphia and challenges me to see God and His work in places I may not have thought to look.

Every Tuesday night, I assist at a health clinic sponsored by ADROP that primarily serves the Indonesian population of South Philadelphia. The clinic has several health professionals and interpreters who come in every week and offer their services and talents. It is through these people that I see God at work. They all volunteer their time and skills to help those who might not otherwise receive health services, all without asking for anything in return. They are dedicated and passionate about the work they do and continuously find ways to improve the services that they offer. They take time to understand their patients that come into the clinic in order to better assist them; this is evident in the improved health and well-being of the patients. This is where I can see God at work.

In conjunction with ADROP, is the Adeodatus Prison Ministry program, which works toward restorative justice (healing broken relationships) in Philadelphia. The Adeodatus program provides weekly support group meetings for former inmates and their family and friends, assists those who are recently released from prison, and sends out newsletters throughout the city to spread the word of their ministry and to share stories from former/current inmates, victims of crime, and family members of victims and inmates. Attending a support group meeting and hearing the stories of struggle, hope, and forgiveness opened my eyes in seeing the need for this ministry; it is through Adeodatus that I have also seen God at work. The two men that run this program are so passionate about serving a population that is typically overlooked and heavily stigmatized. At the meetings, through prayer, discussion, and a reading of the Gospel, those who are suffering from the effects of crime come together to forgive and heal in the presence of God’s love and direction. It is amazing and powerful to see both the victims of crime and those that committed crime can come together to support each other with love and respect for one another. This is where I can see God at work.

As I move toward the last half of my year as an AV, I hope to continue to see God at work not only in the places I have already seen Him, but also in new places in a city that desperately needs more of God’s presence and people that have a desire to fulfill God’s work with love and compassion.

Katharine Winner

Philadelphia, PA 2012-2013

Tags:

Domestics 2012-2013

First Impressions of a South Side Kid

by j.albert / 19. January 2013 08:49

Whether we intend it or not, first impressions often become an important part of how we judge new people and places. A bad first impression can color our view of a person almost instantly, and great first impression can mask someone's less obvious character flaws. 

The former was certainly true for me in my first month working here at St. Rita in Chicago, where I serve as a Campus Minister. And while Campus Minister is my primary title, it is just one of my responsibilities, along with Activities Team member, Freshman mentor, and, perhaps most importantly for this story, Flag Football Coach. Every year the AV in my position takes control of the Flag Football team and leads through a single-elimination tournament run by the Chicago Bears. This year our team made it to the Championship Round at the Bears' practice facility, but more importantly for my volunteer position, it gave me a chance to get to know some of the seniors - the only ones allowed to play flag - right away in a non-school setting. 

 

Now, when I say that I coached this team, that could be considered a bit of a stretch given my limited experience coaching football or coaching at all. Given most of the guys' experience with the game, I often acted as referee during our practices - almost all of which were scrimmages - and made sure that on game day, their innate South Side ability to try and fight the other team was held in check. From the beginning, one guy on the team in particular stood out to me as a real problem. We'll call him Chris. Chris played on the offensive line because he was our biggest guy, and definitely had and still has a serious edge to him. During out first practice, Chris missed a block and allowed a sack, causing the defense to start taunting him. So in response, at the top of his lungs - a note that this practice was being held right outside the library - Chris instructed the starting linebacker to perform an act that can't really be discussed in this space. And with that, Chris was running a lap. It was the only time I made a kid run all year, but it was warranted. Hell of a first impression to make.

 

Fast forward to two weeks later, and I am attending Rita's first Kairos retreat of the year. I detailed in my personal blog earlier this year (nextstopsouthside.wordpress.com) that this particular Kairos was a difficult experience for many, due to a few students who failed to take the retreat seriously, and actively tried to ruin the experience for others. One saving grace for me on Kairos 109 was the strength, depth and courage shown by my small group. Included in my group were a student who would lead the following retreat, as well as Chris. Perhaps no one got more out of Kairos 109 than Chris, who opened up about his life and helped me realize why he acts the way he does, and in a way, why we all act the way we do. I subscribe to the belief that we are the product of our experiences, that what we have experienced in our past shapes how we act in the present and prepare for the future. 

 

As I write this in January, Chris is one of my favorite students. He often stops by during his lunch period to chat with me in my office, and we've had more than a couple lengthy conversations about his future and mine, his involvement with a similar program to Kairos through his parish, and just life in general. First impressions can definitely be impactful, but if we let them shape our opinion of a person, there's a lot we can miss out on.

 

Jon Albert

Chicago, IL 2012-2013

Tags:

Domestics 2012-2013

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