As part of this series, I conduct interviews with fascinating people who have resided all over the country and the globe. These occasional interviews appear as podcast episodes (available through your browser or on various podcast apps) and while the starting place for these interviews are questions about physical “homes”, we get to talk about all sorts of other things that are (or are not) “home” in their lives.
For this month’s edition, I return to my friend Rebecca Rowland for a follow-up interview! (If you missed the first one, click here to listen). In December, Rebecca and I spoke about the challenges of moving all over the country during her early years to follow her family’s conservative religious work. While she was able to experience life in places as far-reaching as Alaska and Ireland, she actually held a very narrow worldview because of the bubble her family kept her and her three siblings in.
She continued to hold a lot of these views when she went to college, got married in the middle of it, and then had a baby when she was 23. In this episode, we dive even deeper into how being a certain type of religious person in college can be both affirming and problematic, and the surprising catalyst for how her “small-minded thinking” (in her own words) opened up to become welcoming, empathetic, and eager to keep learning more.
We analyze the fascinating (and deeply frustrating) topic of Washington state and United States politics, and our own feelings of helplessness when it comes to current world events. (And how keeping inequality and injustice in conversation is, at the very least, one way to not feel so helpless). We also explore what it feels like to be adult children who have lost their moms, and the strangeness of navigating the world after losing someone so large in our lives.
It’s rare that you get to hear from someone who will admit that they once held closed-minded and conservative beliefs but now has changed their mind. Give a listen to learn more about why we need more people like Rebecca in this world.
Reflection Questions:
What were the things that gave you the most meaning when you were 18-22 years old? (Or if you are currently that age, what gives you meaning now)?
What is a topic that you have changed your beliefs about? Could be big or small, but what led to this shift in beliefs, and why?
Image: taken in Charleston, South Carolina, by Rebecca’s daughter Audrey.
Rebecca, Part Two