By: Hilarie

Rudyard Kipling once wrote that, “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” What an incredible statement, he’s making. If you think about it, the things that we hold nearest to our hearts are the stories that maybe a parent or grandparent told us, a story that we’ve heard that really touched us, and for most of us, our own unique stories are all at the center of who we are. Stories are the unique connectors, the webs that are woven in order to unite people with each other, stories are often the building blocks of citizenship. Recently, I was able to experience a night full of exchanged stories, a kind of scattered dinner, and the building of friendships amongst people that truly surprised me.

At this dinner were five of us, each very unique. Of our group were myself, Rachael, Brent and his friend Tan, and our generous host Jennifer. I set up the dinner with Jennifer as I met her earlier this summer when we worked on the Ceremony for New Citizens together. Jennifer is the perfect example of what it means to be a citizen in a community and I thought she would be an excellent match for each of our group members’ interests. She graduated from college with a degree in Political Science, and her husband teaches Political Science here at Western. She is a devoted mother, and citizen as she does very intensive work with the refugee population here in Bowling Green. She does everything from organizing an intercultural soccer team for refugee children, to helping refugees adjust to daily life by attending driver’s tests, court cases, and doctor’s appointments with different families. If I were to model my life of service after one person, it would certainly be Jennifer. I have been getting to know Rachael and Brent more and more through our class, but it was eye-opening to learn more and more about them as we sat together to eat dinner. I was so happy that Brent brought along his friend Tan, as he was a new face for me to meet and his perspective was refreshing in our conversation. He has incredible talents and a spirit that is infectious. Over the course of this night, I learned how much Rachael and I are alike, from our love of feminism and literature to our desires to start a girl band, (which we are totally going to do.) I think I may have thrown Brent and Rachael way off because I don’t really like pie, but they accept  me for my ice-cream loving self and that’s a form of citizenship in itself. Rachael is incredibly insightful and kind and is exactly the kind of person that I need and want in my life. If anything, this class brought me a friend that is a girl after my own heart. Brent is also incredibly awesome, like I’m pretty sure that Brent is one of the coolest people that I know; he’s compassionate, incredibly aware, and full of surprises.  I feel like both Rachael and Brent would like to be described as students and citizens who are hungry for change and development in our world. Both of their hearts and minds are on fire to make a difference, which is what makes our friendships work together so well.

The bulk of our conversations, aside from the required questions and introductions was about Jennifer’s work with refugees and about each of our unique desires and ideas about the world. It was actually a very interesting dynamic that our group had as we bounced off each other’s ideas and built upon what each of us felt. It was a conversation that I have been missing in my daily life. I sometimes struggle with finding people to truly discuss and learn from, and this conversation certainly filled a void that I was missing. We briefly touched on the election, which actually wasn’t terrible to do. All of us were pretty much on the same side as who we thought should be elected, but we spent a small bit of the time discussing the other side and why each of us thought people voted the way they did. I think this is crucial; if we don’t take time to truly discuss the side that we aren’t on, then how do we find the common ground when trying to make progress for what we believe in? It was refreshing to take a moment and recognize the differences in the world as we were seeking the similarities amongst our group. We also discussed with Brent’s friend Tan what it was like in Vietnam and how culture was different from what he was experiencing here in America. His perspective was beautiful to try to understand. Global citizenship came up frequently in our discussion, as everyone at our table, aside from myself, had studied abroad. As I have yet to experience that form of citizenship, I truly learned complex ideas from the different abroad experiences that each of my friends have had. As I find may similarities amongst each of us at the table, we are all incredibly diverse as to how we want to change our world. The stories we each shared opened my eyes to the possibility and hope for our world, and people like Brent, Rachael, Jennifer, and Tan are the ones that will be forces against the nature of where we are today. I think the biggest thing I learned was just how important it is to discuss, not necessarily debate, but just interact with one another. I think we get way too caught up in making convenient exchanges with people that we forget to take the time to have thoughtful conversations. As one topic progressed in our conversations, diverse thoughts and beautiful ideas surfaced, allowing each of us to develop our own thoughts in concordance with each other. It was like building our own web of connection through the expression of our thoughts. I think this is exactly what our class was trying to teach us: how to live well together, how to solve problems, how do we change and evolve? We connect. That’s the most important thing. Connection leads to empathy, empathy leads to helping hands, helping hands lead to a little more love, and that love and acceptance of our fellow man, leads to one of the most beautiful things imaginable: citizenship.

Citizen and Self has been an eye-opening class for me, even when I have been scattered and not on top of things, it’s made me truly analyze what it means to be a member of a group and what it takes to make a difference. That’s the citizenship part, the part that has completely changed my idea of what being a citizen is, the part that has revolutionized my own plans for my life. The other part of this class is discovering myself in ways that I hadn’t thought of discovering. I think that we, as humans, are constantly on the mission of discovering ourselves. As I discover ideas and thoughts about our world and the people that connect it, I also discover something new about myself everyday. There are many things that I long to discover, things like how it is that one action can influence so many things and how different people seem to always inspire something. I find the most interesting things to discover are the abstract things that constantly change from day to day. I think that conversations like the one that I had around our table are the ones where you can simultaneously discover new things and recover old things that you knew and learn how to apply them. Taking the idea of talking around a table; something that we’ve all done, at least, once in our lives, and then combining it with the newness of strangers turned inspirers, is how I’ve found connection amongst myself and this new community that I’m a part of. I hope to continue to discover the ways that I, as an artist, student, citizen, and friend can grow. I realize that I have so many things to learn, I am just beginning to uncover them, and the best way I know of to learn is by feeding off of others and one of the most amazing things that I long to discover is how I can be an active voice in a group of like-minded, but also diverse individuals. This project helped me to discover a little bit more of that, and so has this class.

By Elizabeth

Last week I had the pleasure of sitting in and sparking conversation with a whole host of new company. Mary and I were welcomed to dine in the home of Keaton, Kat, and Tori. Joining us were fellow friends of theirs, Andrew, Gabby, Hayley, and Ashlyn. One benefit of being the new member of this diverse friend group was that each person got to paint themselves in whatever light they wanted. When asked how they liked to be described the answers involved both physical characteristics and core values. Andrew likes to be seen as a very tall gentlemen who was raised in Tennessee and has a background with horses. Gabby unlike the rest expressed one of her fatal flaws by stating she get ‘hangry’ quiet often, a slang term coined to express anger brought on by being very hungry. However she is fairly quiet at first but opens up when surrounded by familiar company. I am glad she was surrounded by friend too because she had great insight into some of the prompted questions. Hayley wants to be known for her humorous side which relates to her idea that she is fun to be around, which I can second after being in her company. Keaton most admirable qualities consist of her dedication and passion to do the right thing while keeping a positive outlook. Ashlyn in proud of her big smile and described herself as an avid extrovert. Hayley on the other hand is more meek and but will defend her point of view in a respectable manner when she feels necessary. Tori said that she is known for her candor and loyalty, never afraid to speak her mind, which added a lot to the discussion. All though it was a female dominated group a great source of diversity was found in the political views, social economic upbringings, and religious affiliations of the people sitting around the dinner table. Even after hoping in with different questions the unavoidable and controversial political debate which is so prevalent at this time dominated conversation.

However, the fundamental question of our class was what initially facilitated conversation. When asked, “What does citizenship mean to you?” Andrew started by answering very straight forward. He said it means doing your part and being good others. As I suspected the first answer would only scratch the surface of a more in depth answer but I was appreciative he was the first one to step up to the unorthodox table topic. Tori seconded Andrew but slightly caught on to the fact we might have been looking for something deeper and added that citizenship means being able to have a voice in society. She went on to express different ways she’s involved. By being involved in community through big or small parts you have a voice. She is involved in intramural sports and a sorority and volunteer work which makes an impact on the way society functions. After others expressed similar opinions that related to different ways each of them is involved and the way they give back, Mary steered conversation by bringing up a similar question, “What kind of person do you want to be?”  Regardless of what setting Mary and I would have been in, I think this question is what brings most people to a general consensus. This is also where I found a strong connection to our class and the material we have been reviewing. Each answer was inspired by an idealistic view of striving to be someone that is liked and respected. Just like in the class we are working to reach common goal by commutative input, each person have a common goal of who they want to be. The main difference is in the way were try to get there. Although the conversation to did move towards the a step by step game plan on how to accomplish this goal I think it is beneficial to be reminded that we are all striving for the same end game.

Diversity was seen again when religion was thrown into the mix. Both parties agreed to we should treat people justly, but where they drew their moral guide from was not the same. The people who identified as religious were Christian and those who were not were either agnostics or atheist. It was about a fifty fifty split.  Under the circumstances of a group or people that already willing associate, this controversial topic of religion, which lead into politics, was very civil. The agnostic perspective thought religion should not be the say all of what determines how we treat people. Interestingly enough, Mary and I’s friendship embodies the Kentucky kitchen table dynamics we had set up. Mary was able to relate to the agnostic point of view, while I resonated with the side of the discussion who pulled their view from religious back grounds. The Bible was reference by Gabby when she said how she values the golden rule: treat others the way you want to be treated. Ultimately this influenced the discussion toward what obligations do we have towards others. This is when politics found their way into the mix. Each person believed that the government and we as individuals have an obligation to treat others with fairness and kindness. However remarkably so as much as we might be able agree upon this as a society and a small group around a dinner table the feelings toward the elections still varied drastically. Even though I am rooted in a strong political stance like most it was refreshing to hear each person’s perspective discussed with such respect for others. On the one hand about half the individuals confessed to voting for Trump while the others half was in unison against Trump. Those in favor of Trump were goal oriented toward economic change that they believed would serve the general public. Those against Trump believed he stood for values that would deteriorate this society. Although the majority Trump supporters could sympathize with their friend’s feelings they still held true to their beliefs. In the end no one was thrilled with the state of affairs our society had been thrown into due to the election. As much as I wished the common ground could be that of rejoice it was not. The meat of the conversation came to a conclusion when we asked, “In retrospect of this how do we live better together?” Andrew mentioned that we must both respect the outcome of the elections and each other. While other might have not mentioned respecting the outcome of the elections all voices at the table agree on respecting their fellow citizens.

After sitting in on a group of people I had never met before, I learned that at the end of the day we are always more similar than different. If we look for similarities we can always find them and if we look for differences the same is true. What is important is that we emphasize our similarities. In regard to David Brooks’ take on the moral framework of today’s youth, discussed in his New York Times article, “If It Feels Right…” I would say these types of conversations prove him wrong. Not every meal is oriented around in depth discussions, but the fact that we can have one and express our opinions with respect and thought out reasoning is what is important. The elephant and the rider (from Jonathan Haidt’s book The Righteous Mind) were also prominent in the group discussion because people reasoning were rooted in the way the felt about the topic. I hope that these talks and hearing others similar goals with facilitate more thoughtful discussion that will continue to help this world answer the question of how we live better together.

By Baylee

When I was first introduced to this project, I was apprehensive. I thought “how in the world am I going to pull this off?” However, I’ve always been a little creative, and overall I’d say our Kentucky Kitchen Table was one of the most inventive things I’ve ever contributed to.

For starters, my KKT was original in that I teamed up with my friends Katy and Katelyn to attempt a non-cafeteria, non-fast food, wholesome dinner at Western Kentucky University. I’d have to say that the preparation for Kentucky Kitchen Table was one of my favorite parts. We experienced different forms of diversity through the entire project, even from the start when we planned our components around one of our guest’s vegan diet, which I had never done before (vegan food is actually not bad). Before starting the project, I was closely acquainted to both Katy and Katelyn, but through the grocery shopping and frantic cooking I became closer with both girls as I learned more about their different personalities and backgrounds (even Katy’s love of “You’re so Vain” by Carly Simon). First, we had some challenges because of our group decision to stay on campus. We needed a kitchen table! And a kitchen! Luckily, the organization Christian Student Fellowship, which Katy and I are involved in, was kind enough to let us borrow their table in their house where they hold non-denominational worship Tuesday and Sunday nights for students. For our kitchen, we utilized the kitchen in Minton Hall, where we all live here on campus. The kitchen had to be the most difficult obstacle, because it is smaller than most walk-in closets. However, we beat the heat coming from the stove and managed to produce a wonderful meal together. We decided on pasta with a choice of marinara or alfredo sauce. To complement our main dish, we included a salad and garlic bread. We ended the meal with delicious brownies that Katelyn made.

One of the premier parts of our dinner were the guests. We each invited a few friends, which totaled to eight people. I invited my friend Seth, Katy brought Theresa and Tucker, and Katelyn brought Anne and Jill. All of our attendants were students at WKU, with varying majors and reasons for coming to Bowling Green. Although the group lacked apparent diversity, we were all from various upbringings and had different, unique personality traits. One of the most unique, however, was our guest Yujen. Better known on campus as “Loud Asian”, Yujen joined our table halfway through dinner when he heard us from upstairs at the Christian Student Fellowship house. Although his presence was brief, because he enjoyed our dorm-made pasta so much that he polished his plate in less than fifteen minutes, we enjoyed hearing about his passion for martial arts and the state of California. Yujen added additional diversity to our group, as well as a conversation burst upon his exit. After he departed, our group began to discuss our different views of Yujen’s frequent presence on campus, as well as some of his antics which he is locally famous for.

Yujen was not the only topic of discussion at our table. Initially, conversation was one of my main concerns for our group. However, from the start of our dinner my previous assumptions that things would be awkward were blown away with jokes and opinions frequenting the table. I particularly enjoyed this, because I like to be very social and liked learning about our guest’s unique characteristics. For example, I listened while Seth shared the reasons for getting a large chest tattoo, and Theresa’s passion for the clarinet, which she plays in the Big Red Marching Band. I also thought it was interesting hearing about everyone’s hometowns. Every guest at our table originated from Kentucky, with the exception of Katelyn and myself, who call Tennessee home. Tucker and Anne are both from Frankfort, and Seth and Theresa went to the same high school. Although these guests shared a few aspects of the places they reside, they had very different opinions when asked about some of the details like neighbors and favorite things about their hometown. As we got into other details of our lives, including both campus and back home, I began to gain an appreciation for the prevalent diversity appearing at our table. This began to clear things up for me as to why we did this project in Honors Citizen and Self. I realized that openly sharing our different opinions and interests which made us unique in a comfortable, welcoming environment simultaneously united us as we all were desperate to find out more about one another.

As we began to shift to less superficial topics, Katy, Katelyn, and I presented our required question “Beyond voting, paying taxes, and following laws, what does citizenship mean to you?”. Seth, being the light-hearted guy he is, responded with a firm “Murica” which we all responded to with laughs and giggles. However, after we calmed our enjoyment, Anne offered an excellent response which received approving nods in agreement from the rest of our table. She responded to our question by sharing that to her, being a citizen means being able to freely express opinions and views openly, thus utilizing the freedoms and rights we are granted as citizens and unifying us under these rights. Anne’s response resonated with me, and made the meaning and relevance of Kentucky’s Kitchen Table all the more apparent to me. I realized that despite our guest’s differences, not all in appearance, we were able to unite under the fact that we were free to share our various backgrounds and thoughts at a simple dinner.

After our plates were clean and our bellies full, Katy, Katelyn, and I said goodbye to Jill, Anne, Theresa, Seth, and Tucker. As we washed up the dishes and packed what few leftovers we had, we reflected on our dinner and agreed that this project was an excellent example of healthy deliberation and how our guest were willing to contribute to making a great dinner, just as we as citizens strive to contribute to making a better world.

Friendsgiving was the first thought I had when I learned about this assignment. All throughout high school my friends and I would have dinner together during Thanksgiving Break and sit around talking. We looked forward to it every year; sadly, we were not all going to be able to get back together this year due to some of us traveling. However, Friendsgiving was not lost. I was invited to have a Friendsgiving by one of the older members in my sorority, Kelcie, to come to her apartment and I was super excited!

My favorite part about getting together to eat at an actual table is the home-cooked meal that comes with it. There were nine people who were invited (including me) and we all were to bring food. I knew what I was going to bring immediately— mac and cheese! It is one of my absolute favorite foods. Also on the menu were rolls, mashed potatoes, green beans, chicken, dressing, and many different casseroles. And don’t think I forgot about the dessert! We had enough pies to feed a small army!

When I arrived at the apartment I was immediately greeted by Kelcie when I walked in the door. She introduced me to the other girls who lived in the apartment with her: Abby, Kristen, and Morgan. One of Kelcie’s friends, Sydney, also came by for dinner. After her came the three girls from my sorority: Abbi, Anna, and Loretta. I knew this was going to make for an interesting table conversation because we all have different personalities.

I’ll start by giving a little background information on everyone. Sydney, Loretta, Kelcie, Anna, and myself are all from Louisville. Abbi grew up in Lexington, Morgan is from Paducah, and both Abby and Kristen are from Frankfort. Sydney is not a very talkative person, but if you ask her why she prefers not to talk so much she’ll respond by saying that she just likes to listen to what other people have to say. Loretta wants to be described as a humorous, sarcastic human being (as you can tell by her face in the picture). Kelcie is a very loud and, as she likes to say, energetic person. Morgan and Anna remind me of each other in the sense that they both are motherly figures. Abbi preferred that I referred to her as a “fun-loving” kind of girl. Kristen wanted to be described as having a bright personality and Abby is also a bit shy, but she warmed up towards the middle of the dinner. Even though we were all girls, we came from different parts of Kentucky, from different social classes, and from different home lives.

So as we all sat around the table with our plates stacked with the food, I said that we needed to take a group picture. While the majority of us knew we were going to smile normally, of course I was asked if we “had to” smile. I responded that they could make any face that they wanted. So I was left with Loretta “mean-mugging”, Morgan throwing up a peace sign, and Kelcie in the middle of eating a forkful of food. Abbi wasn’t pictured because she was actually taking the picture.

I decided to break the ice with the table since I still didn’t know all of the girls. We started with the question, “Did you ever have meals around the table with your family or neighbors growing up? Did you like that? Why or why not?” We were from all different places in Kentucky so I thought that it would provide for a lot of different answers and reasons.

I thought that Sydney’s answer really coincided with her personality. She had meals around the table growing up and she liked it because it was a way to see how the rest of her family members’ days were going. She is the kind of person who likes to hear what other people have to say and this goes along with wanting to hear how her family’s day went. I related this to the part of the class about deliberative arguments. If she were to participate in one, she would be able to listen to everyone’s point of view before she would speak and give hers. She is a good example of how we can live better together because she is more likely to listen to someone than to argue with them and make the situation worse.

Abby’s answer was not similar to Sydney’s. Abby came from a low-income household. Both of her parents worked long hours and it was a fend-for-yourself situation in her house when it came to dinner. She said that it would have been nice to have sit down dinners every night or at least three or four times a night. The only time that her family would have a sit down dinner was on holidays or once a month. I was wondering if this had something to do with her shy personality in which she didn’t talk very much.

When it came to the question “what does citizenship mean to you?” I received a range of answers. Anna, one of the motherly figures in the group, said that she views citizenship as helping others around you and making sure that your fellow citizens are doing just as well as your family members. Come to find out, Anna volunteered at a soup kitchen in the rough part of Louisville. She would make dinner for the children living there that otherwise would not get a dinner and then afterwards would help them finish their homework. To her, volunteering to help these children was her way of making sure that they were treated (as close as they could be) like her family. Kelcie’s answer took more of a patriotic perspective; she thinks that citizenship is maintaining the virtues that our country values, and not asking what our country can do for us, but what we can do for our county. When it came down to Loretta, she added a little humor to the table and responded with, and I quote, “Citizenship means doing exactly what Queen Loretta wants, no matter what.” And with that, the table erupted in laughter.

Obviously, Loretta’s answer is the opposite of what citizenship is. However, I thought it was cool how no one at the table (except for Abbi and myself) had taken this Citizen and Self class, and they had an idea of what citizenship was besides the basic voting, paying taxes, and following laws answer. Each one of these women had a different meaning to them; even though we all had different opinions, we accepted what each other thought. I think that was the best part about this assignment because it tied together what this class is all about. I didn’t even know everyone as we sat around this kitchen table. I didn’t have to feel obligated to accept what everyone said just because we were friends— because we weren’t all friends. But the fact that we all accepted each other’s opinions, beliefs, and stories is how democracy should be.

This assignment has led me to actually want to eat around a kitchen table more often. At first, I wasn’t sure how a kitchen table dinner could be any different from just eating at a table in DSU. However, know I can understand and appreciate the intimacy and a certain level of quietness that the kitchen table brings. I look forward to appreciating many more kitchen table dinners in my future.

From left to right: Sydney, Loretta, Kristen, Abby, Morgan, Kelcie, Anna, Payton (me)

Not pictured: Abbi