A Sense of Community: Sept. 8

I realized that I never took the time to say thank you as I was caught up in leaving, arriving, and the newness of every moment. I kept joking around by telling people that if you want to feel truly loved, just tell people you’re leaving for two years. Before telling people I was leaving I never could’ve imagined the amount of support and love I would receive in the months to come. Yes, in many situations I did not know how to respond when people said they would be sad or would miss me because I was largely excited. But I am so lucky to have a large community of people behind me as I headed out into the world.

Every time I had doubts about leaving for so long or doing something so drastically different, I remembered what my parents continually told us growing up: “Go see the world and have different experiences. Live your life and you can always come back.” So often I think it’s the first step that takes the most courage. I always knew I had a family that supported me embarking on these journeys, though they would obviously miss me, but now I know I have an entire community at home supporting and loving me. That means more than you can know. I keep holding on to that notion that I always have a home to go back to, but right now I need to take the time to explore and discover both the world and my role in it. 

I also only now realize how much I appreciate St. Olaf providing a sense of community for me. Though I didn't love every moment of my time there (I think that would be impossible), I can now look back and say I have a sense of what a tight-knit community feels like. I had the St. Olaf experience, which brought both good and bad aspects, but I'm happy to have grown during my time at St. Olaf and continue to reflect upon my experiences there. I will undoubtedly continue to expand my definition of community during my time in Nicaragua. 

So to everyone at home and at St. Olaf, thank you for supporting me, loving me, and wishing me well. Two years sounds long, 27 months, wow. I’m not going to think about the time, I’m going to measure these years in the love that I felt during all of those hard goodbyes. Coming home is going to feel so much better knowing I’ve got so many people with whom I can share my experiences.