How I've Changed
I came to HDS knowing that I wanted to study love, but not sure how or what that meant. That's the beauty of this place: you get to explore, which for me was a process of refining my ideas, discerning what it was that I really cared about. I discovered that love shows up in theories of nonviolence, of how we ought to relate to one another; in other words, love has an ethic to it, which calls us into a set of obligations to one another. Being able to draw out something that I felt intuitively and put words to it—in a community of fellow explorers and with teachers as facilitators—that changed me. In fact, it was transformative.
Message of Thanks
There are far too many people to thank—students, staff, and faculty—who have profoundly influenced the way I see the world and understand myself. I was also taught some very concrete skills—active listening, mediation, negotiation—by true masters. To all of the above—to those who took a chance on me, who believed in what I had to offer, and who made it all possible—I am eternally grateful. I'd be remiss, however, if I didn't specifically thank my friends, family, and my partner Aaron; those who, in the words of Fred Rogers, have "loved me into being." I wouldn't be me without you.
Future Plans
I hope to take what I've learned at HDS and Harvard and put it into practice, helping others navigate the difficult conversations in their lives. Concretely, this means starting my own firm offering mediation, negotiation, facilitation, and coaching. But at its heart, my conflict transformation work is and always has been about love, about finding ways to honour ourselves and one another in relationship. And relationships, after all, are what make life matter.