Dear Friends,

Our role is essential

Olakoneo --- Greek: To be a servant, to serve

Windows and doorways

to the opening of understanding

disaster, impossible, interrupted

leads us to action

I remain so

For all of us to work and teach together

The longer I am … the deeper I delve

What’s Next?

FORWARD

During Dis-Orientation (our end of year programming), my housemate Kris led us in an activity called collage poetry. We flipped through magazines and books and wrote down words or phrases that stood out and constructed poetry out of what we discovered. We were asked to reflect on the past year and to let that guide our creation. The above poem was created in that reflection space.

Life Together is inherently transitory, like windows and doors, a threshold for young adults to pass through. My journey in Life Together has been one of exploration and becoming. As I am looking backwards, I am in awe of the ways in which I have changed. That “advocate” is a descriptor that comes to mind when others think of me. That living with and loving others often means holding multiple truths, which are sometimes in conflict. That I believe the Divine lives in each of us. I am so grateful for the opportunities I have had to challenge myself and others, to root myself in community, to slow down and listen.

As I finish out my Emmaus year, the question of “What’s Next?” has been on everyone’s lips (including my own). And I don’t have an answer. That does scare me more than I would want to announce. However, I do feel that my years in Life Together have prepared me for whatever is next; from disasters to more doorways, I am ready to move forward. Forward towards new community-building. Forward towards living my values out loud. Forward towards whatever life might throw my way. I am ready for FORWARD.