sometimes the only way is jumping
I used to be a HUGE Gavin DeGraw fan. One of epic proportions. It's not that I'm no longer a fan of his music, it's just that I haven't heard anything new from him in years (aside from In Love with a Girl). Caleb said he would burn his new album for me. Hopefully, one of these weeks he will (kidding, Caleb...sorta).
In any event, I was listening to his song, Meaning, and one of the lyrics is, "sometimes the only way is jumping, I hope you're not afraid of heights..." The quote has meaning and relevance for me today as my classmates and I spent a solid hour this morning in Interpersonal talking about vulnerability, trust, and how to get to that "place" where you trust each other enough to divulge, open up, allow your insecurities and fears to reach the surface and breathe. In a nutshell, let your guard down. I've been living here in Athens about 8 weeks now and with my return to Memphis on the horizon, spent a lot of today thinking about my friendships here in Athens and whether I had allowed myself to become vulnerable with my cohort and my new friends.
And I gotta say, it's tough--really tough to allow yourself to share your fears and insecurities, perspective, lenses, and worldview with people you don't really know that well. I mean, shouldn't you know whether someone has siblings or what their favorite tv show or sports team is before you engage in such heavy conversations centered around prejudices, discrimination, bias, and privilege? Seems to me you should...
I'm normally not a risk taker. I'm guarded, I let very few into my inner circle, and I don't share the deep stuff as easily because the risks are huge. But to reframe, the benefits of being 100% open, honest, and present about your own beliefs and your baggage and have it be accepted and supported by your peers--well, it just doesn't get much better than that.
We're all scared and fearful of taking that next step in our relationships with each other and allowing ourselves to become vulnerable. Sometimes the only way is jumping...But I have a feeling we'll land on solid ground, or at least have someone to cushion the fall.
Cheers.
In any event, I was listening to his song, Meaning, and one of the lyrics is, "sometimes the only way is jumping, I hope you're not afraid of heights..." The quote has meaning and relevance for me today as my classmates and I spent a solid hour this morning in Interpersonal talking about vulnerability, trust, and how to get to that "place" where you trust each other enough to divulge, open up, allow your insecurities and fears to reach the surface and breathe. In a nutshell, let your guard down. I've been living here in Athens about 8 weeks now and with my return to Memphis on the horizon, spent a lot of today thinking about my friendships here in Athens and whether I had allowed myself to become vulnerable with my cohort and my new friends.
And I gotta say, it's tough--really tough to allow yourself to share your fears and insecurities, perspective, lenses, and worldview with people you don't really know that well. I mean, shouldn't you know whether someone has siblings or what their favorite tv show or sports team is before you engage in such heavy conversations centered around prejudices, discrimination, bias, and privilege? Seems to me you should...
I'm normally not a risk taker. I'm guarded, I let very few into my inner circle, and I don't share the deep stuff as easily because the risks are huge. But to reframe, the benefits of being 100% open, honest, and present about your own beliefs and your baggage and have it be accepted and supported by your peers--well, it just doesn't get much better than that.
We're all scared and fearful of taking that next step in our relationships with each other and allowing ourselves to become vulnerable. Sometimes the only way is jumping...But I have a feeling we'll land on solid ground, or at least have someone to cushion the fall.
Cheers.
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