2 October 2017: "I have to be twice as Colombian as my friends in Colombia. I have to be twice as American as Americans...It's hard work." --a member of the panel discussion on Latinx student issues that I attended this evening.
Today has been so hard. Waking up to the news out of Las Vegas. Not being able to stop thinking about it and how dark things seem to be in our country right now. And Shannon's loss hangs over everything. It's a lot. Seems like too much at times.
But this panel discussion tonight, featuring one of my favorite departmental colleagues and three Latinx students (all four born in other countries and now thriving at Shepherd), was such a bright spot in this dark day. This isn't to say their comments were uniformly uplifting; they weren't. Because, boy, do we have work to do. But their mere presence there tonight and their willingness to share their experiences was uplifting.
The young lady who shared the quotation above really moved me. We sometimes forget--even the most open-minded among us--how hard these students have to work and all the directions from which they feel pulled. Hearing her words will (I hope) make me remember that and exercise even more compassion.
2 comments:
Thanks for sharing this. So often when I read your blog, especially when you share stories from you students, it reminds me that there is hope and there are people like you preparing young people to keep inspiring us and challenging us to live as we should.
Thank *you* for reading! My teaching stories are my favorite, I think. And it is the students who give me hope and make me feel inspired. They are among the very best parts of my life.
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