Shalom Wundimu (she/her) is a third year student majoring in Environmental Studies and minoring in Chemistry. On campus, Shalom currently serves as a Residential Assistant and Admissions Ambassador.
During my time at Pacific Lutheran University, one of the most valuable lessons I have learned is what it means to learn, unlearn, and relearn everything I have found to be “true.” However, recently I have accepted that these three concepts must work in unison with one another, as they serve as puzzle pieces. My intellectual curiosity has led me to discover that my identity is beyond my physical attributes or temporary interests but rather my ability to be a lifelong learner.
When this realization became apparent in my life, I started to think of the first houseplant I ever owned. At first, my plant displayed nothing short of perfection. From the pigment of the leaves to the stem of the plant, every inch radiated pure beauty. Through research, I adopted methods to preserve and maintain the health of my plant. Ranging from the number of times it should be watered to the amount of sunlight required, I continued my journey of being a learner. However, despite how delicately I cared for my plant, I noticed the previous vibrant green color slowly displaying extensive pliable stems with numerous spots of brown. In that instance, I knew something had to change.
As I began to research ways to revive my plant, the different pieces came together. With learning new information, I was unlearning bad habits, as a means of relearning how to care for it. Soon enough, my plant's health was restored. Although applicable to my care for a plant, this concept does not end here.
When thinking about how this relates to anti-racism work in the “real world,” I use my own experiences to understand others, not rewrite their story. Taking my experiences from my childhood into a young adulthood, I am constantly thinking about how I can apply anti-racism work once I leave the PLU bubble. Defending human dignity and caring for those that cannot care for themselves are all parts of a puzzle that must be assimilated. Much of the work I aspire to do, requires me to serve others using different lenses. With this in mind, I continue to think about ways that I can advance diversity as a means of addressing health and health care disparities in my future career. Day after day, I better realize that it's both essential and vital for me to develop as an individual to work towards dismantling systemic factors in the health field.
How does this relate to a plant? To me, I had to learn how to care for my plant and similarly, care for others and myself. Although there are many moving pieces, the most important thing is acknowledging that there is always space for growth.
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