This year more than ever, people
from home are consistently saying the same thing “you should come home.” Though
it pulls at my heart, what really influenced me was a 2010 Leadership Council talk
at UCO. I believe it was a guest speaker but it could have been Scott "the great" Monetti. Whoever it was, they talked about being content or rather to challenge
ourselves daily to not be content.
When we become comfortable we can
also become stale and develop a fixed mindset. Whereas, if we pursue a life of
things that make us uncomfortable or at least challenges us, we can grow. Our
ideas of what the world should look like, the perception of the people and
culture around us and how to handle the future will be better off when we challenge
our ideas and assumptions.
Yes, I fully agree that I could be
happy at home. In fact, it would be incredibly easy to live there. I’ve developed
meaningful relationships with my family and a few close friends, I could
quickly find a job, I know where I could volunteer and I could open a dojo. I
have connections and ties everywhere in the great state of Oklahoma. It would
be easy. I would be simply content but being content is not enough for me.
I want to push myself past content and see just how far I can go.
I want to be called out for a micro-aggression
and not be defensive, when just last year I heard the term for the first time. I
want to discuss stereotyping and cultures with a security guard long after all
the students were picked up. I want to struggle to pronounce names because I
live in a place where the ones I grew up with are considered the “unique”
names. I want to sit on a bus with a man seeking refuge from his country during a time of "conflict" and have a 3-hour conversation using translating apps. I want to experience life not from a bubble with a radius of my own
backyard but from meeting people, living in other cultures and being open to my
own vulnerability.
So dear dojo, Red Cross and every
other type of family back home, know I love you and miss you dearly but
understand that I am exactly where I need to be.
Sincerely,
Jenn
Jenn
