New Perspective.

"For who I am now...shame on my upbringing. For who I am in the future....shame on me."

So I made it to Philly!!! I arrived two weeks ago from today! However I have only been in Philadelphia a little over a week because we all flew to Chicago for orientation for 5 days! Orientation basically introduced us to our cities and talked a lot about living in community, working in our community, racial reconciliation, justice and more. It was really helpful to hear all the speakers and to meet all the other MissionYear teams from around the country!

The quote above was something one of the speakers said and it really resinated with me.  To me, it means that I can't help the way i was raised. I can't help the culture and the view of the world I already have. It isn't my fault that I have grown up oblivious to many things. However, it is my fault if I begin to see injustices in the world and racism in the world and choose not to change. In the future, I CAN help the way i will view the world and I CAN continue to grow and mold my perspective on life!

This is the way I plan to view this year in Philly. I want to learn from those around me who have a completely different life! I hope that every pre-conceived notion i have is torn down and replaced with a more open and clear perspective.

Now, i know all this sounds very idealistic, but i have been pondering this quote for the last two weeks and it has really made a difference on me. So i thought i would share it! :)

THis is me and my roommate, elizabeth, at the airport on our way to chicago! 

I was excited about my new bedroom haha

Our team at orientation! everyone except for the girl on the far left lives in my house with me! Ashley, Elizabeth, Josh, Me, David, and Dave! (left to right)
Hopefully I will have more pictures later!!!!