Where Do I Belong?

How does this drawing connect with your life experience? I have been drawing ever since I was four. Of course, over the years it has improved and I have found my style. After doing a concentration my senior year of high school, I knew I wanted to pursue art. At the same time, I love using words and writing and began to incorporate both in my works. I began using words to create pictures and desc...

Bridgewater, Va. - At the start of a workshop I attended two years ago, the opening exercise involved responding to the prompt: “What is one place you really feel you belong and one place you feel you need to go?”   There were 25 of us in the room and you will not be surprised to hear that there were 25 distinct answers. Try the exercise yourself. Perhaps one’s sense of where they belo...

Bridgewater, Va. - BC’s annual “Big Question” provides a thread that connects many different parts of our academic community during the course of an entire year. It truly is a big question every year - one with no simple answers and one that each of us might respond to differently and with a unique perspective. And, by design, it is meant to make us think across a range of perspectives, from t...

Bridgewater, Va. - Linkin Park once wrote a song that was completely about finding somewhere that they belonged entitled, “Somewhere I Belong.” This is essentially the big question at Bridgewater College this year which is, “Where do I belong?” When it comes to student athletes, they may find where they belong at BC easier than others, but the bigger question for them is finding whether or no...

where bowman stands tall three stories high creativity flows down the hall as i turn and say my goodbye   where writing is the main point of communication and literary analysis is an everyday conversation   where the highest of honors is bestowed upon me and my fellow scholars come join floor three and you’ll see what you’ve been missin’   where happiness...

Mercersburg, Pa. - Politics is a realm of choice. You choose for whom you vote, whether you try to persuade the votes of others or whether to vote at all. To the uninitiated, trying to understand the complexity of it all can be overwhelming. However, being offered the choice of involvement is a privilege you should never take for granted.  The two political parties, Democrats and Republicans, can seem w...

Within me  exists an inquisitive mind attempting to bring meaning to my inner workings what makes me one of a kind.   I once feared a place that persuaded me  to exude my light nurturing its brightness in classrooms and books among students of all backgrounds where all ideas are pursued.   I’m glad I belonged here out of all places I’m glad to h...

Bridgewater, Va. - The Psalmist rejoiced that the “lines have fallen to me in pleasant places” (Psalm 16:6). This captures my thoughts about where I belong at Bridgewater College. Thankfully, I fit in almost everywhere at Bridgewater. Of course, I do not belong in the dorms or locker rooms—that would be silly—but I am blessed to have friends in almost every other nook and cranny on campu...

Home is in the faces on my wall Home is in the letters from loved ones Home is in FaceTime calls and “I miss you” texts   I search for Home in fresh faces and conversations I search for Home in walks around campus I search for Home in shared meals and How are you?’s   Searching for Home in new places feels unfamiliar But Home is Home.   I once thought Home...

Bridgewater, Va. - Have you ever found yourself in a classroom wondering, Do I belong here? Do I belong less, more or the same as others? Do I want to belong in this place? What does belonging even mean? You are not alone, and your questions matter because belonging is a major contribution to motivation and academic success.  Schools have often failed at building communities of belonging. In fact, th...

Bridgewater, Va. - Where do I belong? When I first heard this question, the wires of my global studies mind began to fire off immediately. I first thought, in what context? Politically, nationality, religiously, racially? I then imagined the entire country attempting to answer this. Something about that seemed horrifying and comical. Then I contemplated the question again, specifically in relat...

Bridgewater Va. - Hello, my name is Emily Gormus. I am a biracial woman who was adopted by a white family, a family that since the day that I was born has been my family. The story of how I was actually adopted into my family is a hectic one. My mother got a sudden call that there was a baby girl that was ready to be picked up from the hospital that day. My mom had to scramble to get my older brot...

Bridgewater, Va. - When I think about spiritual belonging, I think about finding myself “in the place just right,” as the old Shaker hymn puts it. And by “the place just right,” I mean the sense that my life and beliefs are integrated; that the way I’m living lines up with what I profess to value and believe in.   If I claim to believe in the sacredness of life but treat those d...

Belonging-- a simple word to  describe a complex, wavering feeling, a word that we crave to pin to our hearts because we yearn to feel  safe…  warm…  to be caressed by menageries  of silken comforts,   of benevolent words.   When did I experience that?   Humans-- fickle creatures that bathe  in the praise of ones they’ve deemed ...