My Next Chapter

Family and I before graduation

While reading a book, have you ever wanted to flip ahead to see what will happen in the future? People compare life to books all the time, but yet we can't get a sneak peek at the future, because it can always change. After graduating from Central in May, I wanted to flip ahead to get a sneak peek of what post college life would be like. I did not imagine spending 3 months at home unemployed. While I did enjoy my time at home spending time with family, I felt like I was wasting my education I worked so hard for. But before I talk about post grad life, let me update you on what happened right after graduation.

The Christ statue in Rio

I had the amazing honor to be a member of the Central College A Cappella Choir for all 4 years I attended Central. Every spring, the choir goes on tour to share our artistic talent. While  had the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C., where I was able to sing in the National Cathedral, travel around the Midwest on a bus for week singing in places like San Antonio, Texas and St. Louis, Missouri, and traveling to the Greater Chicago area singing in Michigan and the Chicago suburbs. Every 4 years, the choir goes on an international trip, which just happened to be my senior year. We traveled to Brazil, traveling to Sao Paulo, Iguazu Falls, and Rio de Janero, sharing the art of music.We were treated like celebrities everywhere we went to sing. The congregations were so appreciative of us being there. In the Ipanema area, we sang to a standing room only crowd of 750! It made me realize how blessed I was to have the opportunity to sing with this group and share our music. Before we left for Brazil, we organized a shoe drive to the Sao Paulo International Rotary Club. With the Sao Paulo Cathedral as our backdrop, a Cardinal in attendance, we donated over 300 pairs of shoes. You do not have to look far in Brazil to see poverty. By sharing our music and providing the donation of the shoes, we felt like we had made a difference while touring.

In Iguazu Falls, Brazil

Now, I am currently living in West Des Moines and working in Des Moines for a non-profit organization, Employee and Family Resources. As an organization we provide various resources to schools, communities, and employers to make a healthier community. My position is a Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist. Though I have officially been in this position for one month, I can tell you that I love it already. I have learned a lot of great lessons and I work with an amazing, supportive
team! Though, I am the only guy on the team and one of two guys in the building, we all get along great. I'm excited to start this new chapter of my life. While it is hard to believe I have my Bachelors and have a full-time position, I am excited to learn more of what life has to offer for me.

To check out the organization feel free to click the logo to visit the website!

This I believe....

While I was in A Cappella Choir at Central College, we had a weekly tradition of having students share a statement of what they believe in. It could be anything that they wanted. It allowed an opportunity to get know one another better. This is my statement that I made:

 

Hearing what other people believe made me start to think if I could possibly list

the things that I believed in. Being a person who LOVES to make lists, I though

Why not make a list of the things I believed in and go from there.

So I wrote down, laundry detergent, Clorox wipes, and folders, No that’s my grocery list, Les Mis, Lincoln, Argo, No those are movies that I want to buy when they come out. Well, maybe this whole list making thing wasn’t such a good idea. So what do I do next, I look around my room for ideas. Above my desk, I have a mirror. Looking into it, I saw a person I never thought I would see; a senior in college, getting ready to graduate in a couple months. It made me look back at my life see how far I have come. My fellow seniors can agree with me, that who they are today is not who they were four years ago. Looking back at my college career, a specific event came to mind that I would like to share with you. A little over two years ago, I went through a reflection process of my life, to see if who I was, was truly who I wanted myself to be. I realized that the town I grew up in had a large impact of who I was. Exactly two years ago, I told a friend the biggest discovery I made, I am gay. I never knew how big of an impact that coming out would be. I was blessed enough to have a family that was extremely accepting and loved me for who I was. I also discovered how much of a passion I have for treating people equally. Without this reflection process, I would have never discovered this passion of mine. I think most seniors can agree with me, that this year specifically, we reflect so much on our college careers at the things we have accomplished or wished we had accomplished or all the people who impacted our lives in one way or another. I look back at my experience in this choir and remember all of the tours I was able to be part of and how much I have grown as a singer.

One more thing, I was once told by a very wise person, we must look back on our lives in order to see where we have come from and to see who we are today. I am Jacob Stevenson and I believe in reflection.

Who are you?

       Spring semester 2011, I was a Resident Adviser which allowed me to have a room to myself.  I decided that it was time to figure out exactly who I was. In our society today, we are given so many signs and labels that tell us who we are. I was tired of living with all of these labels that were attached to me I wasn't for sure were even me. So I asked myself, "Jacob, who the hell are you?" I remember it very vividly. It was late and the only light on was my desk light. I put my elbows on my desk and put my head down and began to cry. For the first time, I was asking myself what I needed to ask myself long before.
       I started with the basics and told myself to make a list. I am a son and a brother. I am a child of God. I am a grandson, nephew, and cousin. I am a friend. I am a student. I am a singer. And that is when things started to become difficult. Because those were all things I was actively doing and could see. I am kind. I am a worrier. I am caring. I then began to remove the dust and the dirt from an identity I thought I had buried deep inside of me and would never have to think about again. "I am gay" I whispered out loud. In the dark room, I finally admitted to myself that the thing that made me different from other people was that I was gay.
       I have always seen everyone as equal. My mantra has always been if you bleed red blood and have emotions, then I love you, unless you prove differently. I have always been able to see two sides of a story. I have always seen people as just that, people. I never understood why people would discriminate against others. Some people, I'm sure had thought that since I was an equal supporter, that is what made me gay. But going back to that late January night, the thought of me being gay was not the first time. It was the first time I was letting myself admit it. I had always found guys attractive.
       Growing up, guys always talk about what girl is the hottest and what your type was. My go to things was Jennifer Aniston and personality. Now, I do find Jennifer Aniston as a very beautiful woman and personality is still very important in finding a partner. But I have never been sexually or physically attracted to a woman.
        After that night, I had to then build up the courage to tell my friends who I truly was. The first person who came to my mind was a friend who was also an RA and lived just down the hall. He was openly gay and I knew that he would be able to help me and be there for me as I told other people. When I finally built up the courage to tell him, I decided to text him: "I have something to tell you and if I don't bring it up, make me, cause I have to tell you." I did this because otherwise I would have the intention of going to tell him, but wouldn't follow through. I did follow through. After the Super Bowl game (Feb. 6), I stopped by his room. Sitting in a desk chair, looking at a clock on the wall behind him I admitted for the first time to someone, "I am gay." His reaction was amazing, "Okay." It brought a thousand pounds of weight and stress off my shoulders that someone else knew besides me. I then told other friends and their reaction was the same. I was amazed that these people I was scared of how they would react, were simply just opening their arms and loving me.
      I have been blessed because I know that I am lucky. Many people who are LGBT are not accepted by their friends. Many loose contact with their friends because they are not comfortable or understand it. I am truly thankful for my friends for opening their arms to me and loving me. There isn't a day that goes by, that I think about how truly blessed I am for that!

Summer 2012

As many of you know, I am not in my hometown this summer. Instead, I am starting my adventure in Des Moines, Iowa. I am working with a non-profit organization called Iowa Safe Schools. Iowa Safe Schools works to prevent bullying in schools against LGBT youth. I have a strong passion in the organization as I identify myself as being gay (I will post more about this soon). I have loved working with the organization and have had the opportunity to write some amazing grants and do some great research for resources that will help many education professionals, parents, health professionals, and community members find ways to include LGBT youth. To learn more about Iowa Safe Schools, click here! Working with the organization has opened my eyes into the ways non-profit organizations earn money, the workings of one, and how to work on many projects at once and get them all done in a timely manner. It has been a great experience and I have loved living in a big city, at least bigger than my hometown.
 I am also working at American Eagle at Jordan Creek and have had a blast and learned more about myself by working there as well. I have never worked in retail before, but I have loved every minute!!