I’m not originally from here. I was born in California, and due to being a military family, moved quite a bit around the world until we settled in Carlisle, PA. Before living here, I lived in Norfolk, Virginia for eight years and Mons, Belgium for three years. I’ve found Carlisle to be a uniquely wonderful borough and the only one that I feel comfortably calling a “hometown.” In those other towns, I am not certain i would have ever cared about “civic responsibility” because I felt like they never had a strong sense of who they were as a community, or that the community itself had a collective identity. I truly feel like Carlisle does.

Carlisle has always seemed to be a town fundamentally built on its love for diversity. The simultaneous presence of the war college, Dickinson, the youth ballet, and the generations of Carlisle natives brings together the strongest meld of ideologies, creeds, and groups of people one could find in central Pennsylvania. The friends I have made here and the people I have met are some of the most  intelligent, kind, and empathetic people I know, and I am deeply grateful for that. Also, the town and the landscape – it’s simply beautiful. Have you ever truly taken a look around Carlisle? The beautiful townhouses. The well-kept campus landscape. Yes! Did you know that George Washington once complimented Carlisle on the orderly layout of our streets – that’s an endorsement you cannot contend with!

I think even with all of its beauty and as progressive as the community can be, Carlisle still has issues with bigotry (though it could be certainly argued that this is a perennial human problem). I’ve seen the gambit of racism, sexism, homophobia, and more in our town. I’ve seen bigotry from all sides of the political spectrum. Even with a huge Muslim population based in Carlisle, there still seems to be a large amount of xenophobia and religious persecution. In the LGBTQ community, my friends still experience homophobia on a day to day basis. And even when half of our town (and more than half of the world) is female, I’ve certainly heard my share of derogatory comments made to me.  In spite of all of this, I am hopeful because I can see our town working harder than most to protect and celebrate the most vulnerable members of our society. So many organizations here to remedy that: Carlisle Area Youth Council, Hope Station, our school’s GSA, Color Carlisle, the YWCA, and many more! I mean, last year, our town passed a non-discrimination ordinance. As long as we keep our sense of justice, we can continue to make change!

Overall, I hope the entire country will find a better sense of empathy or even a sense of self. Maybe that’s wholly unrealistic or idealistic on my part, but I think we’re on our way towards that. We are seeing overwhelming change in our nation, precipitated by seemingly young and younger thought leaders. I hope we can find practical measure for change; holding legislators accountable, passing non-discrimination laws, and feeling comfortable engaging in respectful and patient dialogue with other human beings. – Ava Wendelken, Junior at Carlisle High School, Age 17