Common Ground

While I had a superb day and all, it doesn't even compare to what happened tonight.

Tonight, Jordan House participated in an exercise called Common Ground. Everybody got in a big circle, and our House President read us a list of categories. If we identified with them, we stepped into the circle.

The categories started out pretty light, with things like racial identity, nationality, geographic origin, et cetera. Then they got a little more personal, asking about things like religious affiliation and financial status. And then it got heavy: sexual orientation, suffering from a disability or mental illness, struggling with or living with someone who struggles with an addiction...

It was incredibly eye-opening. I was inspired by the girls who stepped forward to admit things that most people are ashamed of, and I was humbled to find that many of my assumptions about some of the girls were wrong. I felt relieved to be able to share some of my burdens with others, and I also felt vulnerable. But at the same time, I felt surrounded by a bunch of supportive and non-judgmental people, and I feel safe with them.

I am extremely lucky to be amongst a group of such diverse women, and I can't wait to learn from them.