Last night I went to 153 at BCM. I sat with my friends, ate free pork loin, walked around the building and met new people. Then, I listened to the band play some really awesome worship music. Lastly, I got some knowledge dropped on my lap by Kendal, the campus minister. Kendal shared a story with the approximately 80 college students in attendance. It was personal, it was relevant and most importantly it was transparent.
According to Kendal, anger has always been an issue that he has dealt with since he was young. Instead of dealing with it in his youth, he allowed it to follow him into his adult life. Eventually, he had a wakeup call in the form of a 12-year-old girl.
While it would have been easy for him to write off the situation as a fantasy of a childlike mind, Kendal made the decision to own up to his faults and use them as an illustration to help guide others who may be having difficulty owning up to their own issues.
Like Kendal, many of us may have a particular concern that we have been dealing with our entire lives. Though some of us are actively working toward remedying the problem, many of us live as if all is well and right with the world. At least, that is the façade we allow ourselves to display. Because it has been drilled into our minds that we must remain perfect in the eyes of those we pass in our everyday walk, we have become less transparent.
Somehow the media has molded us into believing that we do not need anyone. We are taught that we should limit our trust in others and depend on no one. You are probably thinking that there is nothing wrong with a little independence. You would be correct in that notion, assuming that you realize that there is a difference between independence and isolation. What some tout as independence is only a pretty coverup for a shallow existence wrapped in a bitter coating of inner turmoil.
How does one go about becoming more than what they allow strangers to perceive? It is not an easy process nor will it occur overnight. You have to be honest with yourself. Do not mistake this for the one-step cure all. You will find that once you open yourself to the possibility that you are not the perfect being you display yourself as, questions about who you really are will arise. Some of them will be questions that you have no idea how to answer while others may be things you had hoped would be left under the rug where you swept them. Yet, do not be discouraged, my friend, you will not be alone in your discomfort. Even those who have no desire to change feel the pain that results from learning unfortunate things about themselves. You, however, make the decision in whether you want to numb the pain or heal the source.