My Next Chapter

During my freshman year of college, me and my roommate/best friend Vanessa decided to make bucket lists. A list of goals and dreams to make in our lifetime, some of them were easily attainable, some were looking more into the future. I hung this sheet on my bulletin board in my dorm room during my four years at LMU, looking to it for inspiration and crossing things off along the way.

It has been two months now since I moved out of my on campus apartment. After finally cleaning through some of my things, I came across the list. Written in pencil on lined paper, with the items I completed over the last four years highlighted off in different colors.

This summer I've been reflecting on the last four years and what a beautiful chapter it has been. A chapter that brought me through 7 states, 12 countries, seven different jobs, 2 illness diagnoses and countless moments of true friendship. I'm looking back on those things I've crossed off that list - hike the Grand Canyon, dine at Club 33, study abroad, visit Africa, do a triathlon, start a blog. It has been four years of adventure and growth. I'm so thankful for every moment.

My first triathalon!

Tanzania - Summer 2015

                 
And now that this chapter is closing, and I'm looking onward to what's next.

One of things that I am most grateful about my time at Loyola Marymount University is the opportunity to receive a Jesuit education.

I'll admit, before I left Orange County for Los Angeles in 2012 - I had no idea what a Jesuit was. And I had no idea that the Jesuit education I would receive from LMU would truly transform my life.

I will break it down for those of you who don't know - the Jesuits are members of the Society of Jesus, a male religious congregation through the Catholic Church. Founded by St.Ignatius of Loyola in 1534, the Jesuits dedicate themselves to the "greater glory of God" and the good of humanity, using faith in action to promote global justice, peace and dialogue. Our current pope, Pope Francis is a Jesuit and there are 28 Jesuit Universities and Colleges in the U.S. .

Because of the Jesuit's commitment to social justice and LMU's mission of becoming men and women for and with others, my education allowed me to be fully immersed and aware of many injustices in my own community and the greater world. Walking the halls of CDRF Women's Jail in Lynwood, easily passing through the Mexico/U.S. and Haiti/Dominican Republic border as I watch those with darker skin than my own wishing it was so easy, courses which dissect systems of oppression, seeing farmers struggle to fight against GMO seed companies in rural India, serving as a companion in an elderly home in Los Angeles, conducting research on support groups and the well-being of individuals with disabilities - these opportunities have been my classroom.

          

Dominican Republic - 2016

India - 2014

                     
The Jesuit education I received from LMU taught me the great importance in not only understanding and acknowledging injustice, but using our own skills and talents to take action and accompany those who are marginalized.

During my sophomore year, I read the book Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion, written by a Jesuit and LMU alumni - Father Greg Boyle. Father Greg is known for his work with Homeboy Industries, which he created to employ and train former gang members, serving over 10,000 men and women seeking a better life. In his incredible work, he emphasizes the power of compassion and kinship - not serving others but being with them.

“No daylight to separate us. Only kinship. Inching ourselves closer to creating a community of kinship such that God might recognize it. Soon we imagine, with God, this circle of compassion. Then we imagine no one standing outside of that circle, moving ourselves closer to the margins so that the margins themselves will be erased. We stand there with those whose dignity has been denied. We locate ourselves with the poor and the powerless and the voiceless. At the edges, we join the easily despised and the readily left out. We stand with the demonized so that the demonizing will stop. We situate ourselves right next to the disposable so that the day will come when we stop throwing people away.” 

Shortly after reading this book, I decided to add a year of post-graduate service to my bucket list. I can't imagine walking away from my education without attempting to work towards justice for so many who won't get the chance. 

This is my first step in action and while it may be small and seem insignificant in the face of so many horrible injustices, it is my belief that it is in fact these small steps that come together as strides for justice in our world. 

It is my hope that we can all as Pierre Teilhard de Chardin S.J. writes, "trust in the slow work of God" as we each take whatever steps we can - to show more compassion, more love, and more kinship to work toward dismantling the barriers that exclude. 

In August, I will join more 250 other Jesuit Volunteers as a part of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC), who serve in 37 U.S. cities and 6 countries abroad, all who have committed a year or more of serving and standing with those who are marginalized. 

Three of my best friends - Tilly, Josh & Sara will also become Jesuit Volunteers in August.

The program is centered around JVC's four pillars: social justice, spirituality, community and simple living. As an individual and as a part of the Jesuit Volunteer community, I will be taking time to examine the social, political, cultural, and economic realities I will be seeing every day in my neighborhood and work placement and I will be living out JVC's mission which I truly believe in: to create a more just and hopeful world by fostering the growth of leaders dedicated to faith in action.

This is my next chapter. 

I will be moving to Mobile, Alabama to work at L'Arche Mobile, an organization which provides homes and workplaces where people with and without intellectual disabilities live and work together as peers, creates inclusive communities of faith and friendship and transforms society through relationships that cross social boundaries. As a L'Arche volunteer, I will be working as an activity center team member, helping community members in their activities of daily living, personal care, arts and crafts, etc. I will be supporting people with disabilities in offering both physical, emotional and social support. 

Working with individuals with disabilities is something I'm very passionate about and I'm excited for this journey - to build intentional relationships, to learn, to discover and accompany others with kinship and compassion. It is my hope that this next year will allow me to be fully immersed and present in the service of others, to take this experience as it comes and discover the ways God will change my heart in the coming months and how this next year will shape me. My prayer this year is that this first step of action will lead me to a life of continuing to be a voice for those who are excluded and silenced.

This is a challenging but thrilling time of transition, as I move one state to another, become a full time volunteer, living in a community of 7 women. I am so excited to share this next chapter will all of you reading.

If you would like to learn a little bit more about JVC, my placement and how you can support me, follow the link below:

jesuitvolunteers.myetap.org/fundraiser/smts2016/individual.do?participationRef=1141.0.552633239