CITIZENSHIP STORIES
Story of Relationships Relationships are an important part of citizenship - being able to share your life with others in big and small ways. Irene and Arlin have a strong and loving relationship with one another. They celebrated their love and commitment in a beautiful wedding ceremony at their community church on July 29th, 2017. In chatting with Irene and Arlin, it became clear they share a real and meaningful friendship with one another based on trust, support, and looking out for each other:
WHAT IS RESILIENCE?
“We love each other a lot... I love her because she does stuff for me, I do stuff for her, and we both take care of each other”
In a nutshell resilience is about producing favorable outcomes in the face of adversity. Resilience is a complex phenomenon - it is thought and talked about in many different ways. For example, we can think of resilience at an individual level or at a community level. There is value in each definition of resilience, but taken to an extreme, there are also dangers.
- Arlin
Resilience as Something that Lives in an Individual To be resilient is to possess certain traits that enable you to thrive in times of challenge. Examples of individual traits commonly associated with resilience might be: courage, adaptability, and strength. In this definition, if you don’t possess these traits, then you are considered more vulnerable and less resilient.
“He’s a good friend”
Value: This definition reminds us that there may be certain traits that might make it easier or harder for an individual in times of stress - and that’s ok! We’re all different and respond differently in times of uncertainty.
- Irene
This year, they will be celebrating their fourth wedding anniversary and look forward to spending time together.
Irene and Arlin cutting their cake on their wedding day.
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anger: At its extreme, this definition excludes the role D the community plays in hindering and/or supporting someone’s resilience. It can lead to a ‘just pull up your bootstraps and try a little harder’ type attitude. It has also historically been exclusionary to people with disabilities because they are often viewed by those without disabilities as lacking resilient traits (which of course isn’t the case!).
