“I get to do this every day.”

This thought has echoed within my mind repeatedly over the course of the last few weeks, carrying through the Chicago view from my apartment window, to the neighborhoods surrounding my brown line L commute, to the community-style lunches enjoyed by my department each day that bring together different cultures, flavors, and perspectives. I am reminded of it when I hear and learn new languages from my office desk, and when I witness the kind of joy that can only come from a two-year old ready to run outside to play. And though my first few weeks in Youth and Family Services have consisted more or less of blindly stumbling around while simultaneously trying to pretend that I actually know what’s going on, I remain thankful that I stumbled into Heartland.  During these first few weeks in Chicago with Heartland Alliance’s Refugee and Immigrant Community Services team, I have had ample opportunity to reflect on the post-graduate transitions and new beginnings that, while new and exciting and overwhelming and meaningful, can also be difficult and stressful. This relatively very small transition on my part pales in comparison to the types of transitions that our participants are making–transitions to a new country, culture, language, and community, among so many other things. Coming into my internship, I knew that Heartland worked to help provide a space for the latter among our participants and staff- a space for community- but I am each day more fully beginning to realize the type of community that I myself am entering during this time of transition. Heartland is inherently relational in both philosophy and practice; something that I both resonate with and am constructively challenged by each day.  Living out inherently relational sometimes means setting aside immediate tasks in favor of conversation with a participant, prioritizing people over productivity, and knowing that people can and must take that priority. These moments act as reminders that help me more fully engage in the relationships I claim to strive for, redefining my previous notions of professionalism in a way that prompts me personally to grow.

In building these relationships, part of my work with Youth and Family Services involves K-12 extracurricular programming, meaning that last Wednesday, we hosted our annual Girl Power Pajama Jam (find a cooler work event, I dare you). During GPPJ, I had the opportunity to listen to, laugh with, and learn from some brilliant young women all while wearing PJs, eating pizza, and focusing on the theme “girls can do anything!” It is a unique privilege to be surrounded by women from all over the world, to witness them form friendships as they go, and to be simultaneously welcomed into those friendships (but maybe most importantly, to hear the incessant laughter that follows a 15-passenger van jam out session post-pajama party).  

Yet our participants not only welcome us into their lives, but their homes, sharing stories and personal space. On a recent home visit, being granted the opportunity to enjoy tea with a Syrian family, we chatted about family and summer and Chicago, and I was asked about my recent move. After sharing that I appreciated my time in the city and at Heartland, a question was posed with sincere concern: “but do you have friends?”  

Coincidentally, life also happens to be inherently relational, and it looks like this summer, I’ll be learning about priorities. I look forward to continuing to learn from my friends at Heartland Alliance.