Reflections on the Hub: 3 Years Running

I started making plans for when I was 22. I’m turning 27 next month. It hasn’t been easy. I’ve worked a lot of hours. I haven’t made any money personally. I haven’t given much attention to a social or dating life. I still live at home (thanks, Mom).

But I’m okay with all that. In fact, I’m very happy. I love what I do. There are times (daily) that I get discouraged. That I don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel or where this is going, much less how to get there.

But then I remember how far we’ve come. I remember the tremendous successes we’ve had. I remember the individual students that have become like little brothers and sisters, and I get to watch them grow up. And I remember, as impossible as it might seem, the bigger dream.

The dream that one day, maybe sooner than later, we’re going to have hundreds of people gathering on crisp spring morning to break ground for a new facility. And that new facility is going to become a landmark and a lifeline for thousands and thousands of young people.

It’s been more than three years that the Hub has been up and running. I’ve learned a lot. About myself. About running an organization. About people. About our community. Running the Hub is great. Not just because of our actual events, but because of all the doors it opens up for me around town.

Because of the Hub, I’m part of the . Because of the Hub, I get to join in on the Lincoln-Way Asset Committee. Because of the Hub, I’ve met hundreds of families and thousands of kids. Because of the Hub, completely random people call my cell phone and ask for advice on raising teenagers. Because of the Hub, I’ve built personal friendships with kids and adults who are dreamers—people who believe that we can change the world.

But changing the world happens one person at a time. All of us long for relationship, for connection. It’s one of the deepest longing of the human heart. To be known, to be loved, and to love in return. None of us wants to be stranded, isolated, forgotten.

The Hub is about making a statement that community matters. That friendship and connection matter. That as many digital “friends” as we may have, nothing can take the place of laughing, dancing, and loving together. Face to face.

The Hub is also about helping kids make the transition to adulthood. Teenage life is tough. It’s a ferocious search for belonging and identity. Some find it in sports or in family or in religion. For better or worse, who can say?

But there are lots of kids who don’t really fit into any category of identity. To them, I’d say that’s okay. Those are some of the kids that really fit into the Hub. There’s no pressure to be anyone special. To be cool.  We’re just glad they’re there. They matter because, well, they just do.