Everyone Has a Story. What's Yours?

“23 and so tired of life, it’s such a shame to throw it all away. The images grow darker still, could I have been anyone other than me. ”

This song means more to me than anyone can imagine. It’s a critical part of my story. Those eight words, “could I have been anyone other than me” propelled me into a life of critical thinking and questioning that has brought me to where I am now.

I am 23 and I must admit, the questions of life have been creeping in a lot lately. Do I want to stay in Africa? Do I want to take on the empire? Do I want to fall in line and get a job with a non-profit? Do I want to go to grad school? Do I want to stick to my ideals of being able to create systemic change in a world that desperately needs it?

As I search for answers, I look back on the story of my life. What major events have shaped the course of my life to where I am now? What do I truly want in the future coupled with the reality of what I can sustain?

As I ponder my own story, I cannot help but to think about the lives and stories of those who I have met here. On occasion, people share with me a part of their story. The genocide has been a turning point for almost everyone. It’s interesting to hear people describe how the genocide has made them into who they are today. I see both the positive sides and negative sides. Many folks talk about never wanting to experience anything close to genocide again and for that reason has motivated them to work harder than they ever have before.

In a strange turn of events, one of my better friends here is guy whose life is branded by genocide. He was in the army for 13 years and has seen more than almost anyone can fathom. He served in Rwanda, Congo and Burundi in their times of greatest turmoil. He has witnessed the scourges of hell first hand. He now has a drinking problem. His stories of war are unfathomable but he doesn’t let it shape his entire image. He is a sweet man with a heart of gold and a great cultural awareness and acceptance of others.

I see him every other week or so and for a brief time our radically different stories intertwine and create new chapters of who we are and what we are becoming. My peacemaking ideas meet his honest observations on life and war makes for an interesting time. It really is amazing that two people from ridiculously different backgrounds can come together to shape each other’s lives for the future. Who knows, maybe one day I can show him a light to sobriety while he will continually show me what radical forgiveness looks like. Oh the stories of life and how the oddest of things can have the greatest meaning in our lives.