Monologues is my favorite thing about Goshen College. I joined this club my freshman year because my older sister, Kyra, was a part of it. Like many younger siblings, my older sister has always been my role model, and I wanted to follow in her footsteps. While I joined Monologues to spend more time with her, I quickly realized that this is more than a club; it is a community. 

For those of you who haven’t heard of Goshen Monologues, Monologues is a storytelling organization on campus. Each fall, we anonymously collect stories and reflections from women and non-binary students. Then in the spring, we gather a cast and perform those words on stage. We perform the monologues anonymously and collectively, with the weight of the whole cast behind them. When we tell stories this way, none of us are alone in what we experience. 

I fell in love with Monologues because it gives me a voice. It means that there is a space, reserved for me, or you, to tell the whole Goshen community whatever is on our mind. It is a space to be honest about struggles and triumphs, friendships and failures. Even if you do not write something, just knowing that you have the opportunity to do so matters – and it has certainly mattered for me.

Goshen Monologues is also a necessary part of our campus. It is a place to address our failures as a community and as an institution. Every year, when I first hear the Monologues, I am reminded of all the ways we can do better, and I hope you are too. 

I have been involved in Monologues in almost every form: as a writer, a performer, and a committee member. I honestly don’t know if I can put into words what Monologues means to me; it has changed who I am. 

Being on the committee and making sure that these stories are told gives me a sense of purpose. Every year I am surprised and inspired, and frustrated and heartbroken by the words that people share. 

The community that I have found here, and the stories people have written, have helped me become more honest, more confident, and more empathetic. The cast and committee members have supported me and challenged me, which has helped me grow.  

At its core, Monologues means that my story matters, and yours does too. 

I hope that you, too, can find the community that I found at Goshen Monologues and that you will continue to write, speak, and challenge us this semester. You all make us better.