In Her Own Words: Emma Drzewiecki's Journey from SHU to St. Louis
Joyful House Live-in Assistant Emma wrote the below article for her alma mater, Sacred Heart University. It was featured in their Spring 2023 edition of the Catholic Studies Newsletter. We are glad to be able to share it with you!
Being part of the Catholic Studies minor has allowed me to be vulnerable in the questions I ask the world and humble in the questions the world asks of me. The diverse range of topics discussed within CIT classes revealed to me how we all long for the same things: a sense of belonging, love, and purpose.
Upon graduating from Sacred Heart in the Fall of 2022, I moved to St. Louis, Missouri to join the journey of “L’Arche life”. L’Arche is a network of homes, where people with and without intellectual disabilities live together in community. As a live-in assistant, I live where I work, sharing in day-to-day activities with core members (individuals with intellectual disabilities) and other assistants. As a community centered around mutually transforming relationships and support, L’Arche serves as a living definition of solidarity.
Within the L’Arche community, we all share one, common goal: to make the unique gifts of individuals with and without disabilities known. Much like in a CIT classroom, L’Arche embraces and values me as my authentic self and calls me to help others do the same. While the work that L’Arche does, and the commitment that it is, was daunting at first, being a Catholic Studies minor gave me the confidence and courage to embark on this journey. It affirmed to me that we are all called to live a life of solidarity, with the aim of fostering mutually transforming relationships.
Since coming to L’Arche, I’ve realized that solidarity plants itself in the most modest parts of life. It could be as small going to Starbucks for a cup coffee, riding a train, painting a picture, or making pancakes on the weekend. It is simply all the moments we show up for another; a shared experience or conversation, all the moments we work with one another. L'Arche has quickly revealed to me that showing up for people in the simplest of ways are often the most powerful.
