Mayor Woodford: Tonight’s invocation will be delivered by Alder Alfheim.
Alderperson Kristin Alfheim (District 11): In 1987 I wrote the shortest of poems. It read, “I am me. No one else the same. I wish to be that way, and so I’ll remain.” It was an ode to being a smart, athletic kid who didn’t fit into the jocks, the nerds, or the cheerleaders. Embracing ourselves is imperative in this world. However, a few more verses should be added.
“I am me,” may be true, but it doesn’t exclude others from being them. Self identity is just that: self identity. If we believe in autonomy of feelings and self, then it requires us, by default, to respect the identity and autonomy of others.
The last line, “And so I will remain,” refers to my right to be steadfast in my beliefs. What it does not imply is that new information is added and absorbed to adults as often as it is to infants and toddlers. As a child, every sound, smell, sight, and feeling is analyzed and absorbed like adding salt to a soup. Bit by bit, the new information changes and forms us a vulnerable situation if not amazing. As adults, I wonder, I hope that we would embrace new people, new experiences, new information, and new facts as we did as children, each being a grain of salt or seasoning that, without judgment, is received and added openly.
A true willingness to learn and grow only exists if, as humans, we have a willingness to step off or pivot from a position we’ve held. So perhaps my hope for all of us would be to adopt the following: I am me today. With added wisdom I accept who I’ll become tomorrow. With open arms, I embrace my–embrace my growth. And so I will remain.
I beg of society to embrace curiosity over judgment, ask questions with intention to learn every grain of salt or seasoning available, even the ones that may make you uncomfortable. If I had not, I would be the same person with the same cultural, societally–societal, and scientific beliefs of 1987. I hope you all embrace who you’ll become tomorrow. I do.
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