Written by Michael Lozada
People often don’t realize how good they had it until it is coming to an end. Those that do have the joy of living and feeling it twice! I believe that living as a young person in the QVS program sets you up for that double joy.
For those that don’t know, QVS is made up of three primary parts: spiritual exploration, intentional community, and community-based service work. Each of these could be a full time job on its own, leaving us Fellows squarely facing a formidable challenge that ultimately fosters deep growth. However, us lucky Fellows at the Boston House get a fourth part: The Boston Angelic Troublemakers (BAT) program. This program (spearheaded by Boston’s passionate coordinator, Zenaida) is designed with the express purpose of “support[ing] young adults who may feel burnt out after working as organizers or activists or otherwise are in need of nourishment.” And through daily practices, monthly themes, and a dedication to rejuvenation – all rooted in a deep spirituality brought flooding forth from Zenaida’s boundless wisdom – I can say that I was able to confront the challenges of the QVS year head on. Through my time in the BAT program, I have started attending meeting for worship regularly, picked up some enriching spiritual practices around Tarot divination and candle mediations, and have undergone great internal growth.
“Through my time in the BAT program, I have started attending meeting for worship regularly, picked up some enriching spiritual practices around Tarot divination and candle mediations, and have undergone great internal growth.“
It wasn’t all rainbows, however. My work at the Massachusetts Bail Fund (MBF) was very demanding. It required me to very quickly learn skills about balancing my time, practice finding joy and love for my work even during its most stressful moments, and learn to appreciate my role in a global and timeless fight for true justice rooted in care for the community. I was so busy at some moments that I was getting less than five hours of sleep several nights in a row. Despite that, MBF did the right thing by chiding me for that and my coworkers showed care by stepping up and shifting some of my duties off my plate. They never wanted to extract my labor from me like many places of employment do. I’m sure every Fellow says this (I’m the only one who is right 😉) but MBF was truly an amazing environment for a young adult to blossom within. They cared greatly about making leaders out of every member of their staff: from volunteers and interns to directors and board members. I went from being very new to activism fields to feeling confident enough to give my input on the organization’s direction after only a few months. I can also confidently say that I have left MBF a better place and it has left me a better person. Without a doubt it was the best part of my time here and has given me so much inspiration and direction for my intended vocation. Please check this organization out, I promise that it is a wonderful place doing valuable work that I may someday return to: https://www.massbailfund.org/. If you want to learn more, last year’s Fellow at MBF (who was my coworker this year after she got hired full-time) wrote a testimonial you are welcome to check out ! https://quakervoluntaryservice.org/2024/07/01/working-with-the-best-team-of-people-karla-goss-testimonal/
I am very excited to continue exploring myself and how to live in this chaotic, messy world through another year of QVS, this time in Minnesota (starting in August)! I am truly blessed to get the opportunity to stick with this wonderful org for another year. Challenges and joy await!
With my closing words I would like to challenge you (yes you who are reading this right now) as QVS has challenged me. I’m going to share the list of monthly themes for my QVS year and my daily practices for each below. I encourage you to take it as an inspiration to develop a daily practice that enriches your life. Whether it wakes you up and energizes you, slows you down for some needed reflection, or encourages creativity to bloom in the spots it is able to during your busy days – please try something out! Just 5-10 minutes a day for a week I promise you’ll feel the difference!
- September: Grounding
- Morning meditation before I fall out of bed
- October: Grief
- https://open.spotify.com/album/3woXWO4dlKR3XjrprstZAE?si=7JWnmWg1T2-N7NAiA5HQEw
- Listen and sit with album for a few minutes
- November: Gratitude
- Daily thankfulness writing. Sometimes just one sentence, sometimes I have a good day and I have more
- December: Ancestors
- Created an ancestor altar. I modeled mine after filipino pag-anito rituals (https://anituo.tumblr.com/post/61344392866/giving-harang-offerings-to-the-anito-diwata). Gave a moment of silence in front of it every day
- January: Cleansing
- Lighting a candle to burn and clean the air
- February: Tea
- I worked with Tulsi, drinking it or my other favorite tea Skullcap every day. Just a few minutes with me and a hot cup of tea
- March: Resilience
- Daily walks outside, sometimes just around the block, sometimes longer
- April: Connecting to Earth
- Literally touching grass every day. Sometimes sitting with it, sometimes just hand to grass contact if I’m busy
- May: Reflection
- Daily journaling practice that reflected on the day’s events
Michael Lozada (he/him)
Massachusetts Bail Fund
Michael Lozada is in the process of discovering how career can intersect with a driving force of helping people, something he got a taste of working for a community kitchen project at his alma mater, Grinnell College. With an academic interest in people with all sorts of different perspectives, he graduated with degrees in Psychology and Chinese, helping grow the Chinese program there through shared meals and cooking. Besides academics, he enjoyed performing improv and singing in choir while at college. Michael grew up attending North Carolina Yearly Meeting (Conservative) through his home meeting, Davidson Friends Meeting.
Why participate in QVS instead of applying for a job directly with a nonprofit?
“QVS gave me a sense of direction — I learned at the end of the year that I needed more education, and more critical thinking around the best space for me to make long-term impact in a community. I found out what my strengths and weaknesses were, and gained clarity towards my next steps…
In my year-long position, I did a lot of typical first-job-out-of-college evaluation, but in my community I think I arrived at those conclusions faster because I had folks at home I could talk to about my experiences and feelings. It also unprogrammed the definition of success I maintained for myself before QVS; now, success is more than work, but also about how I am able to care for myself and listen to my feelings. I owe QVS thanks for more holistic visioning.”
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