It’s been about 6 months now since I first started Challenge Detroit. Six full months since I first met all these incredible people that I now call friends and started living, working, playing, giving and leading in the city. That’s half a year. It’s been almost 11 months since I graduated from Oakland University. That’s nearly one year. The way time flies just blows my mind.
It’s unbelievable how much things can change in just one year. One year ago today, I was most likely studying for my advanced financial accounting class or practicing for my guitar and theater open elective classes, worrying about whether I’d find a job after graduating the next month or if I’d end up jobless. In the past year, I feel like even though I lost some things, what I gained was bigger than anything I lost. Bigger because what I gained is helping me set a foundation for my future, helping me realize what kind of person I want to be and is constantly changing my heart and mind. Challenge Detroit has changed me in so many ways that I don’t even know where to begin.
Moving to a part of Detroit that is just 23 miles away from the Detroit suburb in which I grew up was like entering a whole different world. Perhaps it felt that way because in many ways, Detroit truly is a different world. I had visited the city a few times for events like the auto show before but I didn’t really know what Detroit was all about until I moved here and actually became truly invested. Even now, I highly doubt that I know everything there is to know about this city. Sure, I knew what the newspaper told me (usually just negative news) which was upsetting because I knew that Detroit had great potential. We definitely had some struggles to work through, but we had potential. After moving here, I’ve now become even more obsessed with the idea of connecting the city with the suburbs and ending this division. I’ve always wanted this, but even more so now. I grew up in the suburbs and it was great, but the life in this city is what woke me up. For me, the desire to see the city and her suburbs finally cooperate is a personal one. It’s about making the places that shaped me finally join forces and become one team.
Somehow, Detroit flipped my world upside down and made me question everything I thought I knew but in a good way. Being here has confirmed my way of thinking in certain areas and made me reconsider my points of view in different areas. Along with my interest in business, just being in Detroit also sparked my interest in urban planning. Detroit continues teaching me more about topics that I already had knowledge on and raises important topics that never even crossed my mind until now.
Of course, in the final six months of Challenge Detroit I won’t possibly be able to learn everything about Detroit that there is to know but this is a great start. Everyday, I wonder if I will stay in Detroit for the long haul. I sure hope so. As a young adult starting her career in a city that’s being revitalized, where you will meet so many inspiring people, I truly want to stay. However, Detroit also inspires me to step out of my comfort zone and explore the world and see things through different lenses. If this incredible city that I grew up just 23 miles outside of could open my heart this much, imagine what seeing other parts of the world can do. Yes, I have been out of state and out of the country multiple times, but not recently. The times that I did travel abroad impacted my life in many ways, but now I am a young adult who’s seeing the world through different eyes. With the kind of work I want to do, I believe seeing how different people live in different places is necessary if I want to be able to impact Detroit on a larger scale in the future.
This program has helped me start figuring out what direction I want my life to go in and where my interests truly lie. I think it’s safe to say that over the next six months or so, this will start to become more and more clear. I don’t know where I’ll be five years from now or even closer, two years from now. One can never know. If you asked me last year where I’d be this year, I would never have guessed that I’d be part of an incredible fellowship, living in Midtown Detroit, working at a law firm in Southfield and partnering with Detroit area non-profits.
If you want to truly experience Detroit and be given the opportunity to become an integral part of this city, apply for Challenge Detroit by visiting the following link: https://www.challengedetroit.org/application. Also be sure to check out our video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmoPNbIST1Q.
Phase 1 of the Challenge Detroit Year 3 application process will close on MARCH 9, 2014. Just apply, you won’t regret it.
Shivani