"You Are More Than the Worst Thing That Has Ever Happened to You"

Caption: View of our snowy back deck last year when we had more snow. Photo taken by Jesse Conzemius.

While listening to Iowa Public Radio, I listened to a story about Leigh Ann Erickson, a social justice teacher in Mount Vernon, Iowa, the home of Cornell College. She decided to take her class to Mission of Hope in Cedar Rapids to interview people seeking help on Martin Luther King Day, 1/18/2016.

After interviewing folks at the Mission of Hope, 16-year-old student Alyssa Maddocks worked on a poem that included a recurring line that I couldn’t get out of my head because I liked it so much: “You are more than the worst thing that has ever happened to you.”

This line empowered me and possibly others because so many of us are overwhelmed with shame and misery by the terrible things that happened to us as toddlers, as children, and as teenagers. We make the mistake of allowing the evil or thoughtless actions of others, though they may be narcissists and criminals, to define us and mark us forever as unworthy of respect, dignity, and love.

“You are more than the worst thing that ever happened to you” is a message that opens that last door to breathing freely and taking one’s place in society.

““People walk through the line thanking us for putting food on their plates when food on your plate should be a right guaranteed to every person. You are more than the worst thing that has happened to you. People judge you based on your appearance, people see your appearance, but they don’t take the time to know your personality. You are more than the worst thing that has ever happened to you. . . .”

I took the refrain to heart, and I hope you will too. Say it loud and say it proud, “I am more than the worst thing that has ever happened to me.”