By: Lizzy Coons
Because she was criticized for her weight most of her life, Gabi Renteria has made it her mission to let others know they are beautiful no matter what.
“I have had people say, even my family, ‘Are you sure you want to go get another plate of food?’ ‘If you would lose just a few pounds, you would get a boyfriend,’ and other statements that they just don’t realize how badly they hurt,” Renteria said.
Renteria decided to be a “book” in this year’s Human Library on Nov. 10 to share her story. The Human Library’s purpose is to share stories with others, and Renteria said she saw this as the perfect opportunity to share hers.
Patrick Englert, associate vice president for Student Affairs, also was a book at the Human Library, and his story topic was Queerness.
“I think for me, I just want people listening to think about what it means to be LGBTQ+ and how they can be supportive or help others by sharing their own stories. I wrap up each of my sessions by telling everyone the power of this event is being able to hear someone's story and then lean into their humanity,” Englert said.
The Human Library can bring awareness to certain topics and potentially help someone who may be struggling with that topic or issue.
“In regards to being Queer, in particular being Queer on a Catholic campus, knowing that Catholic social teaching talks about respecting the dignity of an individual. So just being aware that here on campus they will find love and acceptance from their peers, colleagues and faculty isn't anything to worry about,” Englert said.
Darryl Woodson, a security officer in the Office of Public Safety, was a book at the Human Library, too. The title of his book was Black Graffiti.
“I just want people to know that they are not by themselves, and if someone can learn by my experiences or have an open dialogue with me just knowing they have someone whether that be on campus or off, I have succeeded,” Woodson said.
This was Woodson’s second year being a book at the Human Library, but he has shared his stories with students over the years and offered advice when asked.
“One of the things I always tell people who come here is to be true and patient with themselves. You have to be patient with yourself in order to be with others, respect the individual in the mirror and love them unconditionally,” Woodson said.
For first-year student Elizabeth Hellrung, this was her first time attending any Human Library event.
“One big takeaway for me after attending this is how interesting it is listening to other people's experiences. I know for me it can be hard to understand something until I hear of a personal experience or it is explained more thoroughly,” Hellrung said.
Hellrung said her favorite story was the book of Stephanie Brown, titled “Life with an Illness.”
“Someone (Brown) talked about invisible illnesses, hers in particular was her struggles with lupus. It was just really interesting getting to hear how her life has been dealing with this illness because I personally don't know anyone with it so it was also a learning experience for me,” she said.
The Human Library comes to Bellarmine every semester, and it will return March 23, 2023.
Sophomore Cierra Marquardt listens to Darryl Woodson tell his story about "Black Graffiti."
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