To study abroad?
By Kathleen Carlsen
Inevitably, someone always asks the question, "Why are you traveling so far away from home when there is work to be done in your own country?" As the excitement spreads over my smiling face, it is clear that I am ecstatic about my upcoming opportunity to experience a new culture abroad and to volunteer my time within a new community.
Past experience reminds me that the opposite question is asked when I reveal my passion for exploring local social injustices when exotic cultures are just a plane ride away. Either way, the question of motive will be voiced.
No reply of mine will ever be scripted or easy to formulate, since it is such a complicated and loaded question that requires a more in depth response than I can usually provide in that fleeting moment of conversation. The inquiry never bothers me as I have come to realize that many people are genuinely interested in what could possibly be the correct answer. However, it assumes that there is a correct answer, and that such an answer has been formulated in my mind.
While at Santa Clara, I am thankful for the many opportunities I have had to journey abroad to Central and South America, as well as travel nationally to New Orleans and to the greater Bay Area. Although I have claimed to have the refined "wisdom of a 21-year-old", I have yet to formulate a consistent answer as to how I choose when and where to learn about a new culture and the social inequalities that are imbedded within that community.
In all actuality, I feel that it is the experience that chooses me, as, in the past, opportunities seem to have just fallen into my lap. Whether it is a brilliant and motivating professor, a conversation with one of my always inspiring friends, or a social injustice that pulls at my heart strings, a spark within me ignites and I feel forced to act.
I end with this simple request: push the boundaries and embrace the inspiration! Of course people will question the motive and plant a seed of self-doubt, but realize that there is a new culture to experience and good people to meet in places that range from two minutes to 10 hours away.
Recently, the students who have been named "Dreamers" have inspired me since they are forced to deal with the harsh sentiments of some U.S. citizens, as well as the extreme difficulties surrounding immigration law. I have yet to determine where this sudden interest in the social injustices experienced by illegal immigrants will take me, but when it comes to answering the question of why I chose a local versus international community, I will have a smile on my face and specific people in my mind.
Kathleen Carlsen is a senior biology and studio art double major.