“Though nothing can bring back the hour, of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower. We will grieve not, rather find, strength in what remains behind.” -William Wordsworth
The end of the fellowship is upon us. I would say it went by fast, but that’s always easy to say once something is over. I enjoyed my experience with Challenge Detroit overall. I learned things about the city I was born and raised in that I never knew before. I also got a glimpse into what the future of Detroit looks like, or could potentially look like. I met a lot of interesting people who have an interest in the wellbeing of the community of Detroit as well as the region as a whole. From the chief of police to a little lady aggressively planting gardens to feed and beautify Brightmoor, we met a lot of people who are influencers in the city. One of the most inspiring aspects to me was seeing people like the lady in Brightmoor start initiatives to better their environment with little resources but being effective, which prompted me to take the BUILD Institute class on social entrepreneurship. I actually met who would be my future instructor during one of our leadership Fridays. One important thing I learned is that inspiration, innovation and determination are becoming pillars in Detroit’s revitalization.
We had some very interesting things that happened our year that set us apart from other years. We had three people get married during the fellowship (oddly enough two of the three were also roommates, got married on the same day, and both of their former fiancés were students at U of M law school. Creepy.) Three other fellows are engaged and another fellow is a soon to be mother, the first “Challenge Fellow Baby” lol (our fearless leader Deirdre had a child the summer before the fellowship) . With one fellow getting married last summer before the fellowship started, in total there are 7 fellows who are either married or engaged, all of which happening around or during the fellowship. Almost seems like our year made a new pillar, Love Detroit. I think they put something in our water bottles.
We were also the first year to have former fellows work in admin, with Brittany and Caroline. I’ve known Brit over half my life, growing up on the same street two blocks apart, going to the same high school and then college across the street from each other with her going to Spelman and me going to Morehouse. You can probably guess she is how I heard of Challenge Detroit, she was in the first year. Caroline, who by the way hates for you to sing the Outkast song Roses but you want to so bad, is also a year one fellow who joined the admin this year. Both helped a lot because they had experience as fellows which helped us relate to them but also they understand how things are supposed to be done and improved on things they’ve experienced.
Time waits for no man. Time is always moving, whether you are moving with it or not. I’ve learned to try not to be sad that time is moving so fast, but to enjoy each moment that makes up the elapsed time. It helps slow things down. It’s hard to slow down sometimes, especially when we are programed to think of the future and dwell on the past, but being in the moment is extremely valuable. In fact, it is the only time we actually have, seeing that the past is gone and the future is not certain. Although the fellowship is about over, this is a new beginning for many of us.
