Perseverant/
Patient
quietly diligent and steadily persistent
LIFE Group Leader (Fall 2012-Spring 2015)
One of the enduring truths that I have learned in college is that working with people is messy, incredibly worth it, but definitely messy. Anytime you commit or desire to do life with someone, either as a friend or mentor, I think perseverance is absolutely critical. People are more likely to be real and vulnerable if they are confident that you are in it for the long haul. Serving on the leadership team with Christian Challenge, I had the honor of co-facilitating a weekly bible study. In addition, I met with girls one-on-one in a type of discipleship relationship. What this looked like was an intentional friendship in which I sought to know the girls deeply, to process life, to encourage and support, to provide tools and accountability, and to equip them to invest in others. I really think that presence, steady and consistent pursuit, says a lot to people about the value you see in their lives. When you are so deeply invested in someone and in their growth, I think disappointment is inevitable as they will fail in some of the goals you set and at times you will feel like you fail them. Perseverance whispers, “they are worth it”.
Nanny (Fall 2013-Spring 2015)
My primary job throughout college has been to provide daily morning care and school drop-off for three children. I have always enjoyed working with kids, but there is a big difference between being the fun Friday night sitter and the individual responsible for making sure a child is awake, fed, dressed, groomed, and present at school on time. While I never have used the word patient as a general adjective to describe myself, I have always valued the idea of perseverance. I learned so much in first few weeks and even months of being a nanny for this family, especially working with their super independent five year old daughter. It quickly became apparent to me that efficiency just isn’t at the top of the priority list for preschoolers. It was frustrating to not be able to reason with her. I tried a lot of different things and began to notice the differences that occurred in her attitude. When things went smoothly and I dropped her off at school in a good mood, I felt so confident that she would have a good day. However, when we would have a rocky morning, I would worry that would affect her attitude the rest of the day. I think this became my vision then—not to get through the morning tasks just to get through them, but to do them with excellence. I learned to be quietly diligent in this role by paying attention and making observations about what was important to this girl, how long she needed to wake up, ways she could help get her own breakfast, how she delighted in going through her closet, etc. I was persistent in seeing and meeting her needs and creating a morning routine that set the foundation for a great attitude and a great day.
Culture and Context Leadership Studies Course (Spring 2013)
In the spring of my freshman year, I took a leadership studies class called Culture and Context. This purpose of this class was largely to develop our capacities to be inclusive leaders by identifying our personal cultural frames, naming and exploring some of our stereotypes and prejudices, experiencing something outside of our comfort zones, unpacking the issue of privilege, and applying Bennett’s model of intercultural sensitivity. At a personal level, this is perhaps the most difficult class I have ever taken. The content was not difficult to understand, but the hard work and wrestling occurred in trying to apply it at a heart level. We talked about a lot of monsters in this class. Defining stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination was not challenging intellectually, but admitting and recognizing these in my own life was much more difficult. To complete the assignments and get an A in the class I could have stayed on the surface, regurgitated what was said in class, and skated through. But instead I chose to be uncomfortable. It was frustrating to recognize a gap between who I was and the type of person I wanted to be. I chose to write honestly and own the mess of feelings and thoughts I was experiencing at each checkpoint. I like to be challenged and so want to be a lifelong learner. To do so, I think one must grow comfortable, or at least willing to step outside of one’s held truths, beliefs, and ways of viewing the world to consider another point of view. The real challenge, though, is in diligently doing the work, asking the tough questions of self and others until you are able to assimilate this new idea into an existing schema or are ready to accommodate and create a new schema.