November 13th - Meeting w/ Christianna - Mazes vs. Labyrinths - Ryan Hinton

Pilgrimage Symposium - All about Journey & Meaning Making 

    Today in class, Dr. Redick's friend Christianna came into class today and talked about her experiences walking the Camino de Santiago and her own special needs diagnosis. The main point of her story was talking about the idea of labyrinths vs. mazes and how that related to meaning. I found Christianna to be a compelling speaker; she was incredibly genuine and relatable in her experiences as she talked about her early life and her experiences as a special needs student. I thought the pencil point was a little crazy but I think it goes to show the importance of people believing in us and trying to give us a chance, this teacher in 3rd grade who constantly yelled at her for a pencil never actually tried to get to the root of the problem with her and just met her on the surface by either giving her a pencil or yelling at her. I think her point comes back later when she talks about how she is actually a teacher for special needs students and the one teaching point in her class about mazes vs. labyrinths. I thought it was a really interesting point that mazes are genuinely just there to confuse someone; they don't offer any sort of introspection or journey, they simply get us from the start to the end. On the other hand, labryniths speak to people differently. When you first enter the labyrinth, you could be feeling one way, but as you walk the twisting hallways and try to find the center, you have the perfect capacity for change and evolution. Then, you arrive at the center of the labyrinth and are able to sit there and reflect on your journey, before retracing your steps and seeing how much you have changed. I think the concept of the labyrinth is beautiful when looked at like this, as if it is a reflection of the path you have walked and reminds you to retread ground and see how you have grown. 


Definitely some Type 1 Fun in my opinion. 







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