Yesterday was my last meeting with our Peer Educators. My eyes swelled with tears as I pulled away from the school, reminiscing about those kids who I might never see again. It made my heart sink a little when I thought of the ease they all seemed to have with saying goodbye. Then I took a deep breath in an attempt to pull myself together; after all, this is not my group, it is theirs, and it will continue to flourish even when I am gone. Peer Education has been a huge portion of my AmeriCorps VISTA position with HAVEN. I have trained a number of adolescents on how to talk to their school peers about healthy respectful relationships.
People often ask “what is a healthy relationship?” It’s almost laughable that I, a 22 year old, with all of one serious relationship under my belt should be the one teaching others about healthy relationships. However, being a firm believer in HAVEN’s values of an individual’s rights to self-determination and respect, I feel that even at a green age, I have the determination and zest needed to teach our youth about the subject. A healthy relationship is one built on respect for both partners, one where both individuals encourage each other to grow independently and together. This is what I tell my students and now offer to you.
In an attempt to not sound overly sentimental and clichéd, I am willing to brand my time with HAVEN as one of the best years of my life so far. Not only have I had the opportunity to work closely with Gallatin County’s amazing community, I have grown to know an organization that has a huge impact on so many individuals.
I understand all too well the human need to want everything to be simple and good, and domestic violence is an issue that often gets side swept due to its sheer ugliness and brutality. Domestic violence is a worldwide epidemic, one that affects even our community. I know that the only way that we as a community can eradicate domestic and all violence is to not condone any. It is my personal philosophy that if you don’t say anything, you are accepting the violence and therefore speaking volumes in its favor. I might not be able to do much by myself, but we can. I encourage you to help HAVEN take on this problem in our community and help HAVEN make a bigger impact; in the words of Mahatma Ghandi “be the change you wish to see in the world,” and may that change you wish to see be respect for all. Thanks to everyone who has touched my life this year, I will forever and always look back fondly on my experience in Montana.
Peace and Love, Brit Meiers
