Why do I come to work?

Sorry, I haven't beeen so great at keeping this updated.  Life has been going amazing!  I am loving my time with IFYC and enjoying exploring Chicago on the weekend.  As the weather is getting nice, I have been taking advantage of being so close to the lake to go running.    It is hard to imagine at this point that I have been here for a month, which is about 1/3 of my time.  It has seemed like such short time but it also seems like I have been here for longer.  

Last Wednesday, I went with Hind to talk to a group of Chicago Semester students, much like what I am doing but not all social workers.  Part of this training was sharing our story about why we are committed to religious pluralism.  It was intimidating to present such a personal story with a group of people my age, who I had no idea how they would respond.  Hind was really supportive and it was good to have to articulate why I do interfaith work in concrete terms.   

Today before going into our weekly staff meeting we were told that Eboo was going to ask us why we were inspired to come to work each morning.  My first immediate thought was the obivious, if I don't get my required hours in, I don't graduate.  Yet, it is something more than that.  As I sat and listened to the members of the team go around and share the things that inspired them to come to work, I heard all the reasons I came to work and was inspired: the fellows, the people in the office, stories  from other interfaith leaders, etc.   I love going to work because while each day is a little repeatitive I still never know what entertainment or meaningful conversation a day is going to bring.   Each day, somebody will take time to explain something to me that I don't understand or that I need to know.  

I also love the work I do because in the work I do I get to see example of how my education as a social worker and my life as a person of faith can intersect.   Again as I hear the stories that are brought to our staff meetings and circulated in e-mails, I get to see ways that my call to a life of faith and my passion for social justice work together in a unique way.