At this point, I recognize that most people do not have a
clue about who Mennonites are. For most people, the first images that come to
mind are closed communities with dress codes, horse and buggies, no
electricity, and family farming—basically, the Amish. While not entirely off
base, such images would be considered quite naïve by most Mennonites today.
After all, I fall into none of those categories. If I walked
down the street of your town or city, you probably would not even know I was
Mennonite. Now, I do live in a small rural town in the Midwest, but my family
not only has electricity but also television and computers and cell phones—mine
is a smart phone to be exact—and neither my parents nor any of my aunts and
uncles farm (my grandparents did…a long time ago). And I have a college degree,
currently pursuing a Master’s (and dare I say, a Doctorate?)—which is something
most Amish would never consider trying to obtain.
But yet I am Mennonite.
