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 I’ve always felt comfortable here at
Manchester. As a small town, Church of the Brethren, aspiring hippie
from Maryland, I think it took an entire 2½ hours before I fit right
in to this unassuming Indiana paradise. I was quickly welcomed into
an accepting community that understood and shared my values of
social responsibility, my dreams for a just world, and my penchant
for intellectual stimulation. But while I knew I belonged here, I
didn’t know how much this place would help me grow.
We’re often told we need to move
outside our comfort zone. However, I think that comfortable places
can be the best places in which to grow. The comfort of a supportive
community provides a safe space to explore what’s uncomfortable, to
take risks, and to fail. I was asked questions … who am I and why,
what do I believe and why, what do I want to do with my life and
why. I was consistently urged to explore leadership qualities I
didn’t know I had, and I was challenged academically. Exploring
myself, developing unearthed gifts, and studying a lot wasn’t easy,
but I found joy in these challenges … because I was in the presence
of people who cared. The persistent prodding of my community
combined with my commitment to become better helped me grow and made
me happy.
But Manchester wouldn’t let me stay
comfortable for all four years. A summer internship in Washington,
D.C., introduced a white country boy to the big city. I had thought
I knew what it meant to embrace diversity until I was the minority.
It was scary and uncomfortable. I taught English and studied Spanish
in remote Guatemala and met solitude for the first time in my life.
In Ecuador, the bursting idealism I carried into college withered a
little more each time I told a homeless child I didn’t want to buy
any gum. I patiently struggled with frustrations of expressing
myself, making friends, and studying in a foreign language. As I
faced challenges in the absence a community I had once taken for
granted, I began to flirt with cynicism.
When I returned to Manchester I had to
figure out how a new person fit into familiar places. Reverse
culture shock was hard, but before long I was comfortable again. I
was reacquainted with community, big trees, and the English
language. I soon was able to balance the pessimism I found in
Ecuador with the infectious optimism that I have always experienced
here.
When I leave this place again I’ll
take with me a peace studies/Spanish degree, a cultivated
confidence, a collage of rich memories, and the gifts of pervasive
joy and meaningful friendship. I will continue to seek out
comfortable and uncomfortable spaces that provide a balance between
painful challenges and growth within a supportive community. I knew
I was in the right place when Manchester gave me both.
Photo: Ben Leiter served with the
January 2006 Medical Practicum in Nicaragua |
