Week 3

This week I really got involved with the similarities between these people and their stories. In my church service this week we spoke about the importance of remembering that everyone has a journey and that these journeys are equally difficult. I think that what I took home from this week the most is the reminder that each person is fighting their own battle, and that our jobs as fellow humans is to help this battle. Each of the stories reminded us that there is no differentiation of "hard". That whatever your battle, whether trying to speak for the ghosts of your ancestors, or being seen as more than the stereotypes of your race, is an equally difficult situation. Duncan says, "There are many sides to the story, many stories within the stories"(165). I think the reading showed that no matter who told the story that it was important because it was real. It was speaking a truth of the hardships of life, hardships that each and everyone of us will at some point experience. Empathy is something that is not taught in schools, and often not in homes. However, seeing how others struggle, and feeling there pain as your own, is something that could change the landscape of a society. If we all invested into each others stories, like they were our own, we would have the insight to understand their pain, and be invested in their futures. I know that a lot of what I think about is idealistic. But idealism can look unattainable on the large scale, however, on the small, personal encounter scale, it is feasible. And if each person invested in themselves and had morals built around empathy we would be able to my a social change in attitude that focused more on group health and less on individual struggle.