My name is Siobhan Green and I am currently a student at the University of Colorado Boulder. Here is a bit of my story. When I was really young, my parents were told by my doctors that I would not be able to talk. I faced a lot of challenges during my education, including a lot of speech therapy inside and outside of the school. Reading and writing also did not come easy to me and I received a lot of support from my teachers for many years. I went to a K-12 charter school in Golden, Colorado for ten years. During that time, I learned how to use my voice. In my upper school years, which was 7th-12th grade, I gave speeches about various aspects in the curriculum, culminating in the senior thesis. I wrote my thesis on Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. I argued that compassionate love can become a lifeline to the broken. Love is one of the most influential emotions and acts one can feel and show to another person. I connected this text to my own life. Below is an excerpt of my thesis:
When I reflected on why I chose this topic for my thesis, I realized that I relate to Sydney Carton. Not because I am like him in every way but instead that I went through a period of imprisonment by my own mind. I was trapped by cycles of self-doubt. For several years, I returned to this cycle many times. It was not until this year that I finally had the strength to stop this cycle. I needed people around me who could lift me up, relate to my struggles, and could believe in me when I did not believe in myself. Over the past several months, I have felt a fire rekindling within me and I feel better equipped to help others with similar challenges. I encourage you to be like Lucie, a beacon of hope to those around her in the worst of times. We all go through difficult times where we may feel trapped by our own mind or circumstances, like Carton. We may also have wounds that need healing, like Dr. Manette. However, we have a choice. We can choose to change. We can recall others to life. We can remind them of their worth. Sometimes, we can even be recalled to life ourselves.
I hope that someone can find inspiration in my story, that they know they are not defined by their limitations, setbacks, or challenges. I encourage others to find their community, whether that be spiritual, athletic, or something else. A community can help one stay accountable to their actions and be motivated to set smart goals. For me, I am finding a very meaningful community with other Christians. The people I have met have a fire for Jesus that I have not really seen anywhere else. It is really inspiring and is definitely helping me in my walk with God.
I just want to leave you with a Bible verse that means a lot to me.
“We love because he first loved us” 1 John 4:19
God loves us so much that He sent his one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins. What greater love than this can there be? I hope that this week you can show someone love, whether that be holding the door open for someone, picking something up that someone dropped, or just listening to someone’s story. You never know what someone is going through so you should always be kind.