I've thought a lot about what my first post for this new beginning would be and I knew exactly what I wanted to say, for months now actually. However, putting that into words has been very challenging and I've given up on trying to create any sort of perfect introduction and just roll with my thoughts here.
About a year ago, I sat in an auditorium for my first resident advisor training at Loyola Marymount University. One of the resident directors was speaking to us about creating our own "personal mission statement" and we were given a few minutes to jot it down. I think this question would have been hard for anyone but the fact that this room was filled with over 100 college students who didn't want their summer to be over made it even more difficult. I kept thinking about it for awhile after the session was over. What is my personal mission statement? What is the one thing that I want my life to say?
I still don't think I have this figured out at all. I don't know if I will ever be able to eloquently describe in entirety the core of who I am, what I believe in and what I want to accomplish with those things. But reflecting on that question this past year has lead me to many realizations and thoughts about what this means for me. There few things in this life that I am absolutely certain of but the things that I am sure of are constantly shaping my thoughts, feelings and who I am.
The first of these undeniable facts to me is that every person is so incredibly unique and important to this universe. I find myself marveling over this fact often. Think of who you are, every single detail about what makes you, you. Your physical appearance (although that doesn't mean much), your interests, your dislikes, your favorite color, your favorite song, your passions, everything that you are. There is not another person on this planet who is like you, and that is so incredible to me.
In the 2008 Loyola Marymount University Commencement speech, Sister Peg Dolan said, "Can you believe that each one of you is a masterpiece of creation? Each one of us is a word of God, spoken only once. And we have a word to speak with our lives, that if we do not speak it, it may never be heard."
I believe we have a duty to be exactly who we were created as. That just in our creation itself, we are given value, importance and significance. There is nobody superior or inferior, better or worse, but we are all equal in the fact that we were created uniquely to do something wonderful. And we are the only person on this planet who can do it. If not, our masterpiece would never be heard., never spoken to the world around us. Who we truly are connects with who everyone else is in this crazy world to create our incredible, beautiful and unique stories.
I think this requires a true acceptance and love for everything that you are and everything that you have faced and continue to face. This is another thing that I have come to know recently and fully believe with my entire heart.
You are not the sum of your experiences. These past few years have been filled with countless obstacles and my heart felt hardened about it for a long time. I've come to realize that every single moment we face is shaping us into that beautiful creation we are. I don't know who I would be without the obstacles in my life, and I don't want to know.
When we learn to accept and appreciate the different twists and turns of life, the joy and the despair, and be grateful for all of it, we continue to grow into greatness. Our life is happening for us, not to us.
One word comes to mind when I think about my personal mission and that word is perseverance. The greek word is "Hupomone", meaning "to continue steadfastly" or "a cheerful endurance". This word keeps me going. This word inspired me to share my writing and my stories. Because I believe this word perseverance is what life is made up of for everyone.
We are all, time and time again, continuing steadfastly through our lives. We are all faced with challenges, experiences, triumphs, and obstacles everyday. And we push through them. Life isn't just about the wonderful moments but every single moment. A cheerful endurance means working to be our best selves, journeying through every moment in life, the good and the bad, joyfully and realizing that these moments are molding us. And practicing gratitude for it all. This steadfast journey is exactly how it was dreamt to be.
One of my favorite verses from the Bible sticks out to me in these thoughts. And whether you find yourself to be a person of the Christian faith or not, I think it's powerful.
"Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." - Romans 5:3-5
We all have a story. When we accept every part of this story, we are able to love incredibly and passionately. This fuels us and bring us to what we were created to do. We are able to persevere, to build into ourselves and others, and have hope that the lines of this story mean something much greater.
Our stories are so important. We are all so important. Each life, each quality of each individual, every struggle and every single piece of everything was created specifically for us and we are being molded to accomplish something much greater than our struggles.
We will all persevere. We will all rise. And we will all come out of anything, one step closer to who we are destined to be.
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