One of my earliest memories is visiting the group home where my dad worked. At the age of three, I understood that all people were different, but I also found
that the people in the group home had a heart that a lot of others did not. As
time went on, I learned more about what it meant to serve others and my heart
people continued to increase. The onslaught of adolescence began around fourth grade and social situations began to change. We were not the same people and friendships were beginning to disappear. By the middle of sixth grade, I was a quiet individual with limited social interactions in school and academics were my biggest source of comfort.
As I entered the seventh grade, I began to work with students in the special
education program. It was not long before I was using my lunch to go to PE with them, taking trips out in the community, serving their breakfast, and more.
While those students were not always able to communicate everything that they wanted to, they had a sincerity and a love for life that the majority of my
peers seemed to lack. My work with these students continued for the next couple years.
At the same time, the community was beginning to change and the school system was at risk of losing its accredidation. I eventually moved when my dad obtained a position at a residential facility for sixty adolescents girls. I
would have never guessed that having sixty "sisters" would be such an
experience. Living on campus was not always an easy situation as a male teenager who belonged to one of the staff. In fact, there were times that I hated living there. It was during this time though, that my heart for people may have grown most. My "sisters" did not have the most perfect lives. In fact, many of them had experienced and been involved in abuse, rape, abandonment, the foster care system, the juvenile justice system, self-harm, and the list continues.
In my junior year, while I was still living on campus, I was given a diagnosis
of Asperger's Syndrome. Wikipedia describes Asperger's as "an autism spectrum disorder that is characterized by significant difficulties in social
interaction, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and
interests." In many ways, this diagnosis helped for me to understand myself in
ways that I had not even considered. I finally had an explanation and a name
that explained who I was and why I thought of the world in the way that I did.
While I found comfort in this diagnosis, I also found a challenge to develop my
social skills and improve myself so that I could, in turn, help others.
The past couple years have been a story of that slow transformation. When I
started college, I made the deicsion that I would be more open to conversation.
Through theater and other activies, I've discovered my voice. I've made
significant friendships that continue to impact who I am today. I still have an
awakrdness and socially unique traits that define who I am, but I've learned to
embrace these differences and use them to my advantage. I've found a balance
between being completely academically centered and being able to meaningfully, share life with others.
With that said, I've known too many people who have lost lives to suicide,
experienced mental health issues, saw no hope, and too many people that have struggled with real issues with no apparent answer or people available to help them in the way that they need. I'm not out to conquer the world, but I am out to serve people with the best of my abilities whether that means research,
hospital chaplaincy, conferences, journal publications, theater, events, policy
change, etc. I want to help people to find their voice and realize that they
have a story that might just change somebody else's life. I love seeing
somebody's eyes light up when they realize that someone does care, that there is hope, and that they have the potential to be whoever they want to become. Love a little deeper. Care a little stronger. Hope a little longer.
that the people in the group home had a heart that a lot of others did not. As
time went on, I learned more about what it meant to serve others and my heart
people continued to increase. The onslaught of adolescence began around fourth grade and social situations began to change. We were not the same people and friendships were beginning to disappear. By the middle of sixth grade, I was a quiet individual with limited social interactions in school and academics were my biggest source of comfort.
As I entered the seventh grade, I began to work with students in the special
education program. It was not long before I was using my lunch to go to PE with them, taking trips out in the community, serving their breakfast, and more.
While those students were not always able to communicate everything that they wanted to, they had a sincerity and a love for life that the majority of my
peers seemed to lack. My work with these students continued for the next couple years.
At the same time, the community was beginning to change and the school system was at risk of losing its accredidation. I eventually moved when my dad obtained a position at a residential facility for sixty adolescents girls. I
would have never guessed that having sixty "sisters" would be such an
experience. Living on campus was not always an easy situation as a male teenager who belonged to one of the staff. In fact, there were times that I hated living there. It was during this time though, that my heart for people may have grown most. My "sisters" did not have the most perfect lives. In fact, many of them had experienced and been involved in abuse, rape, abandonment, the foster care system, the juvenile justice system, self-harm, and the list continues.
In my junior year, while I was still living on campus, I was given a diagnosis
of Asperger's Syndrome. Wikipedia describes Asperger's as "an autism spectrum disorder that is characterized by significant difficulties in social
interaction, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and
interests." In many ways, this diagnosis helped for me to understand myself in
ways that I had not even considered. I finally had an explanation and a name
that explained who I was and why I thought of the world in the way that I did.
While I found comfort in this diagnosis, I also found a challenge to develop my
social skills and improve myself so that I could, in turn, help others.
The past couple years have been a story of that slow transformation. When I
started college, I made the deicsion that I would be more open to conversation.
Through theater and other activies, I've discovered my voice. I've made
significant friendships that continue to impact who I am today. I still have an
awakrdness and socially unique traits that define who I am, but I've learned to
embrace these differences and use them to my advantage. I've found a balance
between being completely academically centered and being able to meaningfully, share life with others.
With that said, I've known too many people who have lost lives to suicide,
experienced mental health issues, saw no hope, and too many people that have struggled with real issues with no apparent answer or people available to help them in the way that they need. I'm not out to conquer the world, but I am out to serve people with the best of my abilities whether that means research,
hospital chaplaincy, conferences, journal publications, theater, events, policy
change, etc. I want to help people to find their voice and realize that they
have a story that might just change somebody else's life. I love seeing
somebody's eyes light up when they realize that someone does care, that there is hope, and that they have the potential to be whoever they want to become. Love a little deeper. Care a little stronger. Hope a little longer.
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