Junior Year Reflection

I refuse to believe that we have only been together for two years; it feels much, much longer. Looking back over the portfolio, I am absolutely stunned at how many unique and impactful life experiences I associate with the Global Citizen Scholars. Reading through my past reflections, I was similarly reminded of how I have transformed as a person.

For a little bit of personal background, I have never been one to keep a journal. My handwriting is entirely illegible and if typing I tend to become distracted thanks to Wikipedia. For a long time I have disliked the phenomenon of the amateur photographer. Especially in New Zealand, the average tourist seemingly spent more time looking through a camera lens than actually appreciating the natural surroundings. Even with my iPhone, I only took about twenty pictures in Israel and not more than fifteen in New Zealand. Without journaling or photographic records, I remember my life experiences just as a memory inside of me.

Revisiting the reflections, however, opened my eyes a little bit. Forgetfulness is a real factor that I should keep in mind. Memories can be edited over time to fit current self-image, but journal entries are set in stone (or at least paper). What surprised me most about my previous reflections was tone. Over the past two years I have maintained the majority of my political and social ideals, but their presentation has been vastly altered. Especially in the first reflection, my response to the Islamophobia work, my language was legalistic and harshly impersonal. There was the dry air of cynicism in my voice and seemingly the ability to separate and categorize aspects of life like religion and morality and poverty to examine them in a cold and scientific manner.

It seems that I have warmed up since then. Or less likely, I was always this warm but just horrible at expressing it through writing. Though I have retained the similar beliefs as well as a deep appreciation for dark humor, my love for mankind shines through stronger now than before. While I still have admiration for the dry and scientific way of thinking, I now recognize that it is absolutely not the only way and rarely the best option.

Earlier this semester I had the pleasure to teach an hour-long class on Senior Recognition Day on the topic of our refugee work as part of the Refugee Awareness Week happenings. I was surprised at how emotional I felt when I was telling the seniors about these people we had met in Erie. They were incredibly receptive and participatory, and we ended the session with an excellent conversation that brought the issue home for me. They saw a congruency between the shut-in elderly of our country and some of the isolated refugees that come in not knowing English or how to make friends within our cultural norms.

If I had to provide a discreet definition of the Global Citizen Scholars mission, I would now confidently say “revealing the global in the local.” The senior session brought this idea home for me. In that spirit I feel confident to learn from people everywhere no matter what. Next year I look forward to spending more time with my friends in Meadville (a senior couple gave me their e-mail), with my Mennonite friends up the road, and for rich and edifying travels.