The Strength From Within

by Gregory Halloran
On our first full day here, our class walked the walls of Derry and took in the sadness and beauty of this city’s history. As I looked around and heard the stories, I found myself lost not just in the impact of the conflicts among others, but in the power behind what can only be described as the untold stories of those who moved for peace. These untold stories are about battles that were fought on the internal and personal levels. Last night I found myself needing some time to reflect on this idea and decided to take a walk over to the Peace Bridge for inspiration. 

Looking out at this structure which was built to reflect equality and strength in community, I thought back to the history of the city and how far the people who made this bridge happen had to come. But before they got to that point, I wonder what their journey looked like. It must have taken great humility and strength for these people to walk away from their bias, recognizing the roles they and others played and commit to peace. Maybe their journey looked a lot like this bridge, with turns and changes as they went from one end to the other. Maybe the power and beauty of this structure, is not only a representation of hope for the future, but also a living representation of the journeys taken by those who helped make it possible.