Spring Break \’08: Arkansas

While many things have taken place here for me, so much that I’ve not been able to express them all; the time has not been taken to acknowledge the lovely ladies of this trip who have each inspired me in multiple ways.  I am so thankful for all that they have done for me and the other males and feel it necessary to share with others what they mean to me.  Each lady has truly been a commanding force not just in our lives, but in the lives of the Stephens students and in those of the students here on the campus of Southern Arkansas.

The search for one’s self is never complete until he or she has extended that search beyond the next individual, learning more about themselves while delving into the lives of others.  In coming to know and understand Trayonna, Mercy, Elizabeth and Duabhav better, my respect for life, love, peace and happiness has increased tremendously.  While they say that behind every strong man is a strong woman, I’ve found myself standing behind an array of strong women.  Together, we’ve kept each other moving forward and quite often, they’ve kept us afloat.  So I would like to personally thank each and every one of them.

Though there is much more that I could say, I’ll just say that each of you has brought forth a revolution (yes, because that’s how powerful you all are!) of respect, knowledge, strong character, self-love, holding one’s self to such a high esteem and so much more.  And I say all of this to those of you who read this because these ladies are life anew to all that we have done.  Words really don’t express my deepest sentiment.  I am no longer the same now that these women are in my life!

 Community is such a big word.  It’s the single most developing factor that has contributed to the society of Stephens as we know it.  There is such warmth that captures you as you enter the town, something quite unexpected since we knew that we’d only be there for a few days.  We finally went into Stephens High School yesterday and were able to interact with a few of the students.  But we were first met by Mr. Cowen, the principal of the high school.  He gave us a tour throughout the entire campus and introduced us to life at Stephens.  I learned that that high school is what brings more people together in Stephens than any other event or function.  Their basketball team is one of the best in Arkansas and the players are all great guys.  The high school itself is also the highest employer of jobs, pretty staggering or in the words of Dr. Smith, “mind-boggling”.  

We later brought them to Southern Arkansas and gave them a tour of the campus.  We later took them into a class to hear a lecture by Dr. Smith and Dr. Hattery who were expressing the importance of education in today’s society.  During this discussion is where I encountered my first point of uneasiness.  There was a mix of SAU, Wake, and Stephens students all hearing the same information, though receiving it in many different ways.  The common struggle that I’ve been aware of is how to integrate one’s personal opinion into another society or culture without making the other group of people feel as though you don’t appreciate their lifestyle or degrade their sense of identity.  In telling many people that they shouldn’t drop out of high school to find work initially seems to undermine their circumstances, especially from a group of people who can’t seem to relate to their situations.  Of course many were angry, while others were confused, and the young students of Stephens were caught in the middle, some already unsure of what their futures held for them.  As much as some wanted to find comfort in “life as they knew it”, the pressing fact was that we’re not able to lead the lives of those that our previous generations did.  The world is so rapidly evolving that we risk getting left behind if we don’t do something to move forward.

During the lecture, one young lady commented that college wasn’t for everyone, to which I internally responded that society is now telling us that healthcare isn’t for everyone, so we give up.  If gas prices are too high, then cars aren’t for everyone.  The time has come for us all, to shift our perspectives and escape from the chains of the structured mentality of our situation that tell us to be content move forward, rather than the fact that it’s okay to be dissatisfied and to want more out of life.  My passion, more than ever, is for others to be able to do just that, to think outside of the box and desire life and all that it has to offer.  Please do not construe this into thinking that I believe that everyone should be a millionaire, rather I feel as though with the proper awareness, our expectancies and motivations towards life will make us better people.  Even desire with one generation can transfer into effort and persistency with the next.  I expect the students of Stephens that we’ve interacted with not to do something that will reflect our presence in their lives, but to do something for others where their presence will have a crucial impact.  Before that day was over, I knew that this was the final message that I wanted to leave with these individuals.  They are the future of Stephens and it is our collective faith in them that will propel them into their destiny.  I have been tremendously inspired by them and pray that their futures are in good hands.  Stephens needs them, and the world awaits them.

 Community is such a big word.  It’s the single most developing factor that has contributed to the society of Stephens as we know it.  There is such warmth that captures you as you enter the town, something quite unexpected since we knew that we’d only be there for a few days.  We finally went into Stephens High School yesterday and were able to interact with a few of the students.  But we were first met by Mr. Cowen, the principal of the high school.  He gave us a tour throughout the entire campus and introduced us to life at Stephens.  I learned that that high school is what brings more people together in Stephens than any other event or function.  Their basketball team is one of the best in Arkansas and the players are all great guys.  The high school itself is also the highest employer of jobs, pretty staggering or in the words of Dr. Smith, “mind-boggling”.  

We later brought them to Southern Arkansas and gave them a tour of the campus.  We later took them into a class to hear a lecture by Dr. Smith and Dr. Hattery who were expressing the importance of education in today’s society.  During this discussion is where I encountered my first point of uneasiness.  There was a mix of SAU, Wake, and Stephens students all hearing the same information, though receiving it in many different ways.  The common struggle that I’ve been aware of is how to integrate one’s personal opinion into another society or culture without making the other group of people feel as though you don’t appreciate their lifestyle or degrade their sense of identity.  In telling many people that they shouldn’t drop out of high school to find work initially seems to undermine their circumstances, especially from a group of people who can’t seem to relate to their situations.  Of course many were angry, while others were confused, and the young students of Stephens were caught in the middle, some already unsure of what their futures held for them.  As much as some wanted to find comfort in “life as they knew it”, the pressing fact was that we’re not able to lead the lives of those that our previous generations did.  The world is so rapidly evolving that we risk getting left behind if we don’t do something to move forward.

During the lecture, one young lady commented that college wasn’t for everyone, to which I internally responded that society is now telling us that healthcare isn’t for everyone, so we give up.  If gas prices are too high, then cars aren’t for everyone.  The time has come for us all, to shift our perspectives and escape from the chains of the structured mentality of our situation that tell us to be content move forward, rather than the fact that it’s okay to be dissatisfied and to want more out of life.  My passion, more than ever, is for others to be able to do just that, to think outside of the box and desire life and all that it has to offer.  Please do not construe this into thinking that I believe that everyone should be a millionaire, rather I feel as though with the proper awareness, our expectancies and motivations towards life will make us better people.  Even desire with one generation can transfer into effort and persistency with the next.  I expect the students of Stephens that we’ve interacted with not to do something that will reflect our presence in their lives, but to do something for others where their presence will have a crucial impact.  Before that day was over, I knew that this was the final message that I wanted to leave with these individuals.  They are the future of Stephens and it is our collective faith in them that will propel them into their destiny.  I have been tremendously inspired by them and pray that their futures are in good hands.  Stephens needs them, and the world awaits them.

In retrospect of where we’ve finally arrived to now, I believe that I’ve embarked upon my first “road trip” of sorts.  We left Wake earlier than expected, but later than planned, hitting the highway about 5:45 Sunday morning.  I started out driving because everyone assumed that I had had the most sleep, when I probably slept as much as they did, if not less.  But the ride to our first stop in Starkville, Mississippi went by amazingly fast, stimulated by great conversation, though-provoking discussion, a multitude of snacks, pillows and blankets.  Overall, it’s all quite necessary when you’re on a van for 16 hours.  We finally made it to the University of Southern Arkansas this afternoon around 3.  You’d think we would be more tired that what we were from so much driving, but after a day and a half of anticipation of Arkansas, sleep was impossible.  We were greeted by the dean of Student life and our RA, also the president of the SGA and given a tour of the campus.  There are a lot of buildings here that we’ve collectively decided that we want to take back with us to Wake, like the dorm in which we’re staying, and their main university building, which for us is like the Pit, Pugh auditorium, Reynolda, and the post office all in one.  But I’ve really enjoyed everything that I’ve seen so far.  Tomorrow, we finally go into the high school, which I’ve heard is very underresourced.  What I’m interested in the most is understanding the situation that others have to face while viewing it from their perspective, as I believe that we too often try to “help” others and bring forth change based off of our perceptions, not theirs.  I look forward to talking about that tomorrow…