When I left site, and later, left Re-entry training, I was among the Fellows who had visceral emotional reactions to the finality of the year. Nothing would ever be the same. Many Fellows, perhaps as a coping mechanism for their own feelings of loss, told me, “don’t cry,” or “don’t be sad!” Spacetime took me away from people and places I loved. Even though I understood the positive intent of the Fellows’ words, it was immensely invalidating to be told that the way I reacted to this this painful, potentially permanent, separation was wrong. There are parts of ourselves and our cultures that expect us to conceal our truths. I wrote this piece as a rebellion against those parts of us.
Follow this link to listen.* (https://soundcloud.com/thea-h-2/cry-because-its-over-global-citizen-year-capstone)
*Credit is due to John Green, Alan Paton, Dr. Seuss, and Adam Zagajewski for literary inspiration.
