SCY, Summit County Youth, is full of acronyms. Even after three years with the organization, I have a hard time keeping track of them. Note, I do give you permission to correct me if I ever get one wrong or hold me accountable for not knowing all of these by heart, yet. While it can be debated whether it is an acronym, a slogan, or a tag line, my favorite value of Summit County Youth’s is BeKNOWN, BeLOVED, Belong. This year has been tough.  There is no other way to say it. It has personally been one of the hardest times of my life. Now, having moved passed a phase of denying the effects of COVID-19 and processing and mourning the social and racial unrest, I have had a clearer headspace to reflect on the things that are truly important in this season and the seasons to come, ways to live into the wholeness of who God created us each to be.

BeKNOWN: As humans, even beginning in Elementary School, we put up walls to protect ourselves from being seen for who we really are. We hide behind the walls of academic and extra-curricular achievement, outer beauty, social standing, and more, to portray that we have this life figured out, that we are succeeding in all areas. I remember learning at a young age that if on the outside I seemed great, I could escape the feelings of sadness and loneliness that I felt growing up. These protections helped me “succeed” in life, but until recently I looked at these learned habits and realized that I want people to know who I truly am on the inside and out. We don’t need to be stuck in the “rat race of this world”. It is okay to not be okay, in fact, we all struggle at times. What would it look like if we were all vulnerable, opening up to people we trust about how we are really doing, and we could be ourselves for once in our life?  What would it look like to be the people that God created us to be, with special talents and interests, unique looks, and personality traits?  At SCY we value each other’s quirks, we empathize with exciting and difficult situations even if we are not experiencing these ourselves, and we want to walk through life together, encouraging others through the ebbs and flows of life, because we believe that everyone has eternal worth and value and the world would not be the same without your unique self.

BeLOVED: “We love because he first loved us.”, 1 John 4:19. For as long as I can remember I have had a hard time accepting and receiving love from others and love from God. I didn’t think that I deserved it and that it was selfish to accept this love. The truth is, God sees each of us as his beloved, one who is dearly loved. What would it look like if we lived into this identity as one who is beloved, and what would it look like if we all saw each other as beloved, and treated each other as such? WOW, I get pumped just thinking about this, and it is not because of the caffeine that I am drinking as I write this. At SCY, we want to create an atmosphere of love and respect, where we show love and kindness and can feel comfortable receiving it. Rooted in the knowledge of God’s love for us, we want to love others as ourselves. The Greeks have many different words for love that help differentiate the love for example that we have for a family member, a significant other, and the love that we have for coffee (all of which I proclaim that “I love”). At SCY we want to show philia love, a deep friendship love, and agape love, a selfless love, to all who are involved.

Belong: Part of the identity search that we go through in adolescence and even into adulthood revolves around belonging, being a part of something, and a group that is bigger than ourselves. I remember growing up, referring to middle school, high school, and maybe even two days ago, where I would so deeply desire to belong and be a part of a group that I would change myself to fit in and even do things that went against my morals or gut feelings. At SCY we are a diversified group of people who all bring a different “flavor” to the group. This is a place where you can be wholly yourself and you will be valued, appreciated, and invited for this. We are family, we are friends, we are teammates in this game we call life. One night, stressed in my college dorm, my wise-beyond-her-years roommate said, “People are the most beautiful thing you can invest in.” We are created for relationships; we are created to belong in community.  SCY is a community where you can belong.