identitySPECIALIST

My wife was watching Into the Wild tonight – the Sean Penn version of the story of Christopher McCandless. It was great watching it again.  The first time I watched it, I just watched the movie to get the story.  Typically, the second time I watch a movie, I process through some of the other stuff – psychological stuff or spiritual stuff or formational stuff.

As I watched the movie this time around, I was overcome by the idea that Christopher McCandless was looking for something – adventure or a journey or an escape.  I’m not going to pretend that I know what he was looking for.  Some would call him a cultural hero and others would say that he was stupid and suicidal.  No matter what side of the debate you land on, one things for sure, he was processing through his formation.  He was processing through his family stuff.  He was processing through that fact that he and his sister Carine were bastard children.

What stood out to me this time around, was the heavy theme of the family stuff that he was dealing with.  He had alot of family issues to process through – who doesn’t?  But he was searching for happiness.  The emotional abuse and emotional turmoil in their household was probably something that he didn’t want to be around much.  I read that he traveled the country days before he started college.  I was a wanderer and traveler, and he wanted to capture that same escape that he read about from different authors that had escaped society.

Anyway, I don’t claim to know the story well.  It was a interesting movie.  The thing that hit me tonight was this – who in his college career gave him the language or the cateogries to figure out some of his family stuff?  Who gave him a voice and the freedom to verbalize his stuff?  He probably didn’t even know how to?  He probably didn’t even know how to.  I really don’t know his situation.

My situation is such that I work at a college.  I interact with tons of students that are processing through life and family.  Some of them have experienced abuse – physical, emotional, sexual and spiritual abuse.  They are all unique students with unique family systems and family stuff.  We all have them.  I’m not saying that the school that Chris went to didn’t care – I just hope that students that come to SDCC will be able to find that.  And I’m not saying that I’m going to be that person for everybody at SDCC.  I know that there are enough out there that don’t care for me – but that doesn’t mean that I can’t care about them.  I hope that I can give a voice to some of my students that don’t even have categories for the stuff that they’ve experienced.  My hope is that my students can find someone that help give them a voice – give them a voice to help them figure out their stuff so that they don’t have to go out on a stupid journey.  We are all on an adventure and a journey – not knowing where we might end up or how we are going to get there.

If you need a voice and you need help to find one – look around and find someone around you that has the time and let them help you.  If you are someone that can help give someone a voice – look around and find someone that needs it.