I originally had planned to write this, my first blog of our Challenge Detroit Fellowship year, about the importance of understanding other points of view and perspectives regardless of whether you ultimately agree with these perspectives or not.  I had planned to give a look into my past in order to show you what has shaped my current personal philosophy and how I’ve learned to understand the world.  (If i’m going to claim that it is important or valuable to understand other perspectives it would only seem fair that I give a look into my own.)  Then I would show why it’s valuable to first seek to understand and empathize with others regardless of your understanding and how valuable this skill is in creating genuine connections which can lead to creative solutions to some of the problems surrounding our society, but i’d like to gain some more experiences and really think about this skill that i’m learning to understand better.

What has inspired some of these thoughts has been my Challenge Detroit experience thus far.  This year I have been chosen to be a member of a team, with 25 other inspiring individuals in Detroit, whose goal is to create connections and help to foster positive change in and around the whole city of Detroit.  By virtue of being introduced to all of these individuals, I have been introduced to so many new interesting perspectives including both those of all the Fellows and those belonging to some of the many stakeholders in and around the city who want to see or create positive change.

So far, Challenge Detroit has really been such a positive experience that is helping me to better understand and empathize with others and for now I’m just grateful for what I’ve already learned and for the experiences that lie ahead.  I’m not sure what lies ahead, but I’m sure the relationships that are forming in this Fellowship will continue to have a positive effect and help me to continue improving my own views of the world.  I’m looking forward to reflecting further as the Fellowship progresses.