There’s something about sitting in an aesthetically pleasing room, in my bed by the window, facing one of Philadelphia’s most eminent streets, Broad Street. I try and concentrate on my screen as my curiosity drives my peripheral vision to catch glimpses of all the speeding cars driving by. I wonder what is going on outside in my immediate surroundings. I can only imagine what kind of beauty, grace, love, and joy are taking place from the northern to southern ends of the city, all occurring on this very street that lies just outside my window. I envy the street for its all encompassing power…for its ability to bring people of varying socioeconomic status, class, race, and ethnicity together.

Though I feel the persistent beat of the city, pumping like a heart, trying so hard to make me go, go, go, and miss all the simple, magnificent moments, I fight against the propulsion, and attempt to be present. I am present. I have peace of mind. I am so extraordinarily thankful for my time here. I am appreciative of all my encounters. I am appreciative of my life.

Being in Philadelphia has finally given me the ability to give real, tangible meaning to the word community. In just a month and a half, I have seen community in a whole new light, and in a multitude of forms. I have learned what it is like to live in an intentional community, what it’s like to feel like I am an imperative component of a larger community, and that community can be created out of people with absolutely nothing in common if there is a driving force of love. Dictionary.com has yet to acknowledge my 3rd realization.

Every morning I am greeted with a “Hey, how are you this morning?” Initially I think to myself “UGH, it’s 7:30 in the morning, I wish I could hibernate in my bed right now. Are you serious?” After a deep breath, I am able to conceptualize the reality. Someone is initiating love. Someone that I barely know truly cares about how I am doing. This simple act changes my attitude for the whole day. “I’m doing great,” I reply. “How are you?”
This feeling of being cared for is replenished daily. I sometimes am asked what’s in store for the day, or at dinner time how my day went. I’ve never had people who barely know me ask me questions that were so conspicuously out of genuine care. It’s refreshing to know that not all questions involved with greeting, that we feel almost obligated to ask when we come into contact with another human being, have become regurgitated words without significance.

I think for once I have found peace. My experiences here have led me to have feelings that are contrary to the stereotypical descriptions of the city (loud, impersonal, chaotic, industrial, fast, crime filled, individualized, etc.). I have found that all the noises blend so beautifully together that I inexplicably have quiet. My encounters have been some of the friendliest and most smile provoking that I have ever had. I find order in the way different components of the community work together towards a common purpose. I’ve found there to be an endless surrounding of nature, flowers, trees, an urban garden and some of the most people filled parks. Lastly, I have found a plethora of nonprofit organizations, churches, and individuals working towards peace and justice. I smile and breathe with contentment at the hope and love and reconciliation that occurs daily. I am at peace.

So before I begin writing to you about my experiences this semester at MCPC, I feel it is necessary to give you an adequate introduction in regards to who I am and why I am here. For starters, I will include a relatively important factor that you may want to know: I’m actually not a Messiah College student. I’m a junior at Eastern University. Technically, I’m a full time student at Eastern, Messiah, and Temple, which essentially just sounds really cool. In reality, I am currently studying here at Messiah Philadelphia campus and Temple University. Thanks to Messiah, the program here invites any student from any school to join the family and spend a semester in the city. I decided studying what I like to call “pseudo abroad” was much more enticing than doing the cliché abroad semester that most college students participate in. Sure England would be an intensive and beneficial learning experience, but the city of Philadelphia is just 20 minutes from Eastern and can offer me a life altering experience that’s completely out of my comfort zone without traveling the 3500 miles. I believe being intentional about escaping your comfort zone not only makes you a much stronger person, but gives you a plethora of opportunities to seek spiritual guidance, and to make a difference in the lives of others whom you would have otherwise not encountered. I promise you will never regret these encounters.

So I am here because I am a Sociology major who is particularly interested in understanding the dynamics of the city. When you learn about the perpetuation of the injustices that have existed and created urbanized ghettos, and you begin to understand the reality that there is an intolerable amount of human beings living under the poverty line, you begin to ask the question WHY??? After years of oppression under slavery, and the perpetuation of years of unequal opportunities for Blacks enforced by the law, there is still an ever increasing pattern of Blacks falling far below Whites in annual income, wealth, and educational achievement. I refuse to settle with this reality.

Where my passions will lead me, I do not know. But for now I will serve the “least of these” that reside in North Philadelphia. This semester I am involved in a Field Experience course through Messiah where I am involved with the organization Project H.O.M.E. I spend every Thursday and Sunday helping out at the Kairos House, a transitional facility for mentally ill homeless people. I teach knitting and yoga, and spend time playing games and serving in whatever way the residents need me. On Fridays, I am involved with Project H.O.M.E’s Honickman Learning Center, an after school program for the children in the neighborhood where I teach 4th and 5th grade boys and girls the basics of yoga. Working on both the preventative and recovery sides of homelessness helps me get a more holistic understanding of the vicious cycle. I am so thankful to have this opportunity, to impact as well as to be greatly impacted.

Throughout this semester, I hope to share with you some of the personal challenges and blessings I face, the knowledge I attain, and the vast amount of exciting opportunities that the wonderful city of Philadelphia allows me to partake in. I hope you will feel a little bit closer to what life is like in this diverse city, a little bit more in love with all it has to offer.