An Unexpected Lesson About Community
We live in boxes. We structure our lives with them. Sometimes these boxes keep us safe, with locks on our homes to keep the world out. Sometimes these boxes keep us comfortable, with everything we’re used to and everything the way we like it in just one place.
Sometimes these boxes give us strength, encircling us with our friends and family. But sometimes when we feel brave and strong, we unlock the door and step out into the world. I did. I left my boxes behind to see what I could do on my own, without the things that made me the most comfortable, and without the things that held me back.
When I arrived in Dublin, Ireland, to participate in the summer course “Disability in a Diverse Society,” sponsored by Michigan State University, I found that many of my peers had chosen to participate for the same reason—to expand their comfort zones and test their independence. We shared stories of learning to advocate for ourselves, but many of us were still unsure of our ability to get our needs met when outside of our support networks. We wanted to see if we could truly stand on our own.
Many of us also chose to participate because we realized that despite our own experience as individuals with disabilities, we still had very narrow perspectives on disability. Being an individual with a hearing loss, I thought I understood disability. However, I didn't realize the broad spectrum of disability. Participating in this program provided me the opportunity to room with, study with, and travel with other individuals with disabilities. While I learned a great wealth of information in the classroom, I found that I learned the most from my peers. I listened to their success stories, and their grievances. I navigated the streets of a foreign city with them, cooked with them, shopped with them; we lived together, learning from each others’ lives, past and present, on a day to day basis.
Over the weeks we spent together, I discovered that my awareness of other disabilities had greatly increased. I was suddenly incredibly aware of the streets that had curb cuts and those that didn't, which buses had ramps and which didn't. I waited while my friends were stuck on the fourth floor because the elevator broke, or couldn't go on weekend trips with me because the bus or the hostel or the tour was not accessible. I listened as we all struggled to understand and communicate with one another. But I saw all these things get easier over time. Over time, we became more confident in ourselves, but also more willing to see that we didn't have to do everything on our own to be independent. We learned the ropes of a new place, with new struggles, new opportunities, and new people, but we learned them together.
Many of us decided to go abroad on our own, to prove to ourselves and everyone else what we were capable of when we relied only upon ourselves. While I think that many of us found strength in our independence - I certainly did - I also think that we learned another very important and unexpected lesson. We learned that no matter where one goes, one can create community. And, although you must be able to stand on your own, you almost never have to. We learned that the boxes we locked ourselves in back home were not really what kept us safe, comfortable and strong. Rather, we each carried our own strength, and created our own comfortable environments by creating community around us. We learned by stepping beyond these boundaries, in an effort to experience new things, to meet new people, and to learn new ways to do things, that although we're all different, we're also very similar. Most of us have the same struggles in life, and similar hopes and dreams. If we all would step outside our boxes more often, we would see the world for what it is: a global community waiting to be brought together.
Elizabeth Shuler was a student at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, who majored in English Literature with a minor in Political Science.
Michigan State University offers the Disability in a Diverse Society course each summer in Dublin, Ireland, combining a classroom experience with a service learning component. It is open to all levels of college students with or without disabilities. For more information, visit http://studyabroad.msu.edu/programs/iredisability.html.
