Space
We created a weekly tradition — and people started showing up
The 7:55 am alarm wakes me up.
It’s Tuesday morning, so I hear a mixture of familiar and unfamiliar voices coming from the room below.
It’s easy for me to join these 8 am gatherings. All I do is walk down my stairs.
Others travel across Marquette University’s campus to be here despite rain, snow, sub-zero temperatures, and after 3-hour nights of sleep.
I roll out of bed, throw on whatever clothes happen to be closest to me, rub the tired from my eyelids, and sleepily enter my favorite community.
Welcome to Space.
Space is what we call this group of thinkers, dreamers, sharers and seekers.
We are all here to grapple with a version of the same question:
Who am I?
College is a crucial period of choosing a career, learning skills and the all-important figuring out how to do your own laundry. But it’s also much more than a series of homework and assignments.
At the heart of college are questions that define our identity.
We are asking ourselves who we really are, what we think, and how we fit into this world — even when we find ourselves in a lot of conversations about the latest movies we’ve seen or the best places to get a cheeseburger.
Sometimes, we crave substance.
So about a year and half ago, an idea came to me and my roommate Allison.
But we didn’t know what to call this thing that kept popping into our minds.
We wanted to create a place to explore this “who am I” question. We wanted to do it without being formal or needing a retreat.
We wanted it casual. Part of a routine. Without affiliation with an organization. Low stakes.
Come or go, but the door is always open.
We were looking for something that could cover a multitude of topics like spirituality, social justice, self care, the world, ourselves.
The most important part to us was intentionally combining many different perspectives and voices. We wanted inclusivity.
Allison and I found ourselves repeating things like, “We just wanted to create a space in our home for genuine and intentional conversation.”
We stopped and listened to ourselves.
Create a space.
A Space.
For people to chat, learn, listen, read, celebrate, mourn, explore and be together.
A space to attempt figuring out who we are.
When we listened closer, the name of the group was obvious.
The concept of the community was to be fluid depending on who would show up and what they would share. The contents were ever-changing but the time and place, the Space, was constant.
In reflecting on our brainstorming process, Allison mentioned, “We wanted this to be authentic. Not an organization with a mission statement or even a plan, but with people.”
After we came up with the name, all we knew was that we wanted to have conversations every week with the cool people we’ve met at Marquette.
In the words of Allison, “At first there were no promises or expectations. We just kept saying, ‘Well, we’re here and there’s coffee...’ ”
And people started showing up.
We gave our guests couches and coffee and they gave us the living, breathing spirit of Space.
Some days we read poems, other days we talk about an article we found about the importance of solitude.
We all share our thoughts on a topic: the future, empathy, fear. Other days we talk about why we are all so darn addicted to social media and/or comparing ourselves to others.
How can we be better?
More present. More loving.
More alive.
Some people come once and never come back. Others show up every week without fail, bright-eyed and conversation-filled. Either approach we welcome.
We gather with freshmen through seniors, people of all majors, those involved in different organizations and all with different interests.
No two Tuesday mornings look the same — the faces, the words, the energy are always shifting from week to week.
At today’s particular Space meeting, we talk about our winter breaks and what we appreciated about them. We share what we hope to accomplish this semester, in our work, relationships and within ourselves.
Somewhere in the moments between sipping my coffee and giggling with the person next to me, I become a sponge.
I take in all the words, advice, smiles.
I add to my list of goals based on a brilliant young woman’s thoughts: “This semester, I will take time for creativity and other ways of getting inspired, as I know that I feel most myself when I am excited and amazed about life.”
Those “me too” moments are what makes Space so special. Learning from and relating to new and old friends. Having a space to share and express whatever has been cooking in our minds.
This morning, a regular attendee brought someone who had never been to Space before. I recognize her from around campus, but had never been officially introduced to her. Regardless, here she is in our living room.
I think to myself: This girl is way more brave and more open than me. I would never wake up this early in the morning to come to a stranger’s house. I wonder what made her come? I wonder what she’s looking for?
Why do people keep coming to Space?
After today’s meeting, I did some sleuthing. To get some answers, I did what any curious and creepy Millennial would do — I found her on Facebook and messaged her.
I asked her why she came, what drew her to this type of gathering, and what she thought of it.
Her response delighted me:
“I think it’s important to remember to reflect,” she told me. “I am good about doing this in the beginning of the year, but as the year goes on, I often forget to be self-reflective. I think Space will give me the push I need to continue this through the year.”
Her words reflect the universal desire to know thyself.
People want to grow. Sometimes, we just need the space to do it.
As I sat at Space this morning, I became more aware that my Tuesdays are numbered.
As I type this, I am timidly yet confidently stepping into my last semester at Marquette. Every time I admit to myself that, I feel a rush of emotions: fear, gratitude, excitement, nostalgia.
As I already begin to reflect on my days, months, and years in the city of Milwaukee, I would be remiss if I forgot to thank the Tuesdays.
The 8 am mornings we shared with anyone who chose to walk through our door.
The Space we carved out between the late nights and the hectic days.
A Space to find ourselves.
Photos by Allison Dikanovic
