A few weeks ago, I attended Marquette’s Women’s Leadership Conference, which warrants some explanation, considering I am not a woman.
I went because when I am not fighting crime or moonlighting as a columnist for the Tribune, I work as a leadership programs assistant for the Office of Student Development. The office annually sponsors this summit among a myriad of other events, and because my boss and two of my co-workers were instrumental members of the conference planning team, my presence was strongly advised. In less diplomatic terms, I was required to go.

The nice thing about going to Office of Student Development programs is I always end up gaining a lot on a personal level. This event was no exception. Marked by the theme “Intersections of Identity,” the conference explored how our varying and sometimes conflicting social and personal roles shape who we are.

There were many engrossing parts of the day. What captivated me most, however, was the conference’s final activity based upon National Public Radio’s “This I Believe” features. The series, which began as part of Edward Murrow’s radio program in 1951, is based on a simple idea: each show, a person shares some thoughts on the most fundamental belief that determines their life.

These stories sometimes come from famous individuals like Gloria Steinem and Colin Powell, but are often reflections from ordinary people.

The conference’s edition began with a number of students presenting their statements before the attendees received a book version of “This I Believe” and a bookmark with space to write out our own values.

I was at a loss. There are a lot of things I believe in. I believe in God. I believe Harry Houdini was luckier than he was magical. I believe Michael Keaton was the best Batman. But a life-defining maxim that adequately reflects the way I carry myself throughout each and every day? I had no clue how to express that.

So as not to be the only one with a blank bookmark, I jotted something down about empathy, which was not a bad first crack. I figured I could come to a more complete answer later.

Time, unfortunately, did not make the exercise any easier. Many of the ideas I wanted to talk about seemed vague or unoriginal. Love, for example, has been so overused as a term, it is difficult to know what it means until you feel it yourself. Even then, it is almost impossible to explain. As for
empathy, Iranian author Azar Nafisi wrote about it in the book before I could claim it.

Other concepts seemed unreflective of my everyday behavior. While I would like to say my Christian faith compels me to be kind, forgiving and generous toward others, I worry I fall short too often to deem these qualities “classic Brian.”

At some point, I decided answering this great question of what I believed was probably a lifelong endeavor I could not reasonably expect myself to figure out at the age of 22. For more immediate purposes, I realized the point of the activity is largely in the asking. The question “Who are you?” inevitably leads to the question “Who do you want to be?”

My ponderings, while perhaps not conclusive, certainly gave me some food for thought regarding this matter. It didn’t take much reflection for me to see that I care about love, forgiveness, empathy, kindness and generosity to the extent I understand these virtues.

Though we may struggle to articulate our beliefs within a single expression, raising the topic might be the initial step that gets us to an eventual answer. And even if there is not one final answer, I have a feeling we will be better for having asked.

This I believe.