And the word is… engaged!
Seeing how community members deeply care for the well being and positive growth of their shared spaces and cultures makes me want to take on a bigger role in my own community. The social sustainability aspects we witnessed firsthand inspired me a lot. The importance of caring for thy neighbor is clearly evident here, whether that be through the policies in place or the general social dynamics/how they treat one another.
Engaged citizenship is step one. Step two upon returning home is engaging with the topics we studied outside of the context of study abroad. Now that we’ve been surrounded by the Danish and Dutch approaches to hot topics like climate change and social sustainability, I’d like to take this critical lens and point it towards assessing the state of our own country. Finally, step three! Engage more with the communities I identify as belonging to. I’ve let my involvement in certain communities falter over the year, and am ready to take the next step towards finding a balance in the energy I exert.
Carson Thorpe 