Spring has well and truly sprung in DC!  With it has come warmer weather, blooming trees, cherry blossoms by the Jefferson Memorial, and festivals. Unfortunately, with this warm weather, has also come stress about the future, late night résumé edits, and the last leg of this volunteer year. Housemates and coworkers are scrambling to make plans and find jobs, and we find ourselves – yet again – trying to find new ways to define ourselves. For four years I was a college student working toward a degree and some magical future that I hadn’t quite figured out yet. In my search for a plan, LVC seemedRead More →

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I have found a lot of joy in exploring sustainable living. Bike commutes, neighborhood walks, and cooking vegan meals have become regular practices in Wilmington LVC. Living sustainably has also proven itself to be a challenge. As one of LVC’s pillars, sustainable living confronts notions of convenience, consumerism, justice, and community, among others, often guiding me to go against the norms of societal convenience. It’s a challenge that involves an understanding of my mindset: what I most commonly accept as ‘normal’ and why. Living in community with intentional values and goals has allowed me to better understand how I can justly engage in our worldRead More →

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When I began my journey with LVC one of the things I was most worried about was the Midwest Winter. The Wintery Weather came up at one of our monthly spirituality meetings in the fall through one of our discussion questions “In the book about your life, which chapter are you headed to next?” At the time, I had answered “Surviving the Midwest Winter: literally and metaphorically.” As we creep our way through March, I feel that that is the chapter I’m currently in- and hopefully ending soon. No amount of warnings, even from my Minnesota-bred dad, prepared me for how cold Nebraska really isRead More →

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With winter in full swing and the LVC year approaching its halfway point, it’s easy to get sucked down into a portal of stress and cold. I like to think that what’s kept us afloat through it all has been our ability to smile through it all. This includes smiling through car troubles, below-freezing wind chills, or even just the stress of everyday life. We always seem to lift each other back up. Not long after the holidays had ended, I had a sliding collision with a telephone pole on my way to my LVC Placement. As it all happened all I could think ofRead More →

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In the past week, I’ve ended up cooking with my housemates, a few friends, and visiting family on most nights. With music on, lively conversation, and everyone taking part in preparing the meal, what might otherwise feel like something to get through becomes a beautiful and joyous occasion. Many times in the course of a week, I find myself uninspired to eat, or more inclined to just reheat the most convenient thing out of the refrigerator. This permits me to eat in 15 minutes and go on with my next task. When I take time to share food with friends, though, there’s a tremendous warmthRead More →

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