Life; Liberty, KY and the Pursuit of Happiness
For the past three years, Mount Notre Dame faculty member, Todd Forman of Anderson Township, has been taking groups of the MND community to Liberty, KY, for what has continued to be a life-changing experience for those students, teachers and parents who join him. The group spends time assisting on an organic farm, working on the construction of a half-way house for women being released from prison, helping with the construction of a community church and volunteering with the residents of the Galilean Children’s Home. While it may sound like the group is pretty busy, all will tell you that they took away much more than they gave during their visit.
Last November, Todd, along with MND Retreat Director Katie Meyer of Spring Grove Village, took the largest group of students yet to Liberty. As usual, the students and chaperones were changed by their experiences with the members of this tight-knit community. “I can’t really describe Liberty. All I know is it changed my perspective on life. I’ve become less greedy and more helpful. I no longer want the newest cell phone or the coolest iTouch. Instead, I want to help my Mom out around the house. I want to treat my siblings with more respect. The trip to Liberty also taught me that hard work always pays off and fulfilling my responsibilities is so important,” said freshmen Lauren Lange of Indian Hill.
Many of the students who attended this trip were struck by the sense of community and the closeness of the families in Liberty. “I witnessed a total different way of life for families. It was amazing to see how children look out for their siblings and how the families work as a true team. Their love for each other is so evident in everything they do. This trip certainly made me more appreciative of my family and made me want to be a better daughter and sister. The families in Liberty don’t let technology get in the way of what’s truly important,” said MND junior Molly Hildebrandt of Evendale.
Rethinking the role technology plays in their lives was a common theme among the students and parents who went to Liberty. Four days without cell phones, iPods, computers and TV wasn’t as tragic as they may have thought prior to this adventure. In fact, some found it to be rather freeing. As MND alum and current parent Lisa Metz Stiver ’81 of Loveland put it, “We CHOOSE to live a complicated life.” Lisa’s experience in Liberty showed her that we may need to rethink the “necessities” of life.
Freshman Colleen Eck of Liberty Township, recognized how hard everyone in Liberty works, but really liked how “uncomplicated” life is there. “Every family was fine with the simple lifestyle they live. It made me realize how much technology there is in my life today and the headaches it can bring. It really stood out how happy everyone in Liberty was with a simple lifestyle.”
Other students found their pre-conceived notions challenged. “I admit that I assumed that the people in Liberty and other rural communities would be less than sophisticated, but I quickly found that I was wrong,” said freshmen Ellie Sennett of Liberty Township.
A great example is Ms. Sennett’s experience with one of the locals, Pete. Pete was born with several physical disabilities and has survived an extremely rare form of cancer that has almost non-existent survival rate. These road blocks have not kept Pete from life. “The time I spent with Pete is a great example. He exposed me to beautiful classical music and he is so well-traveled. I was completely mesmerized by his stories of studying art in Spain. I really learned so much while we were there, especially that I needed to be more open-minded,” Ellie said.
The next trip to Liberty is already in the works. Mr. Forman is preparing for another trip in March and his students can’t wait to go back.
Written By: clehrter
Date Posted: 1/20/2010 10:48 AM
Number of Views: 8156
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