Back in the Swing of Things

Hi Everyone!

I know it has been awhile since you’ve heard from me; I had a hard time readjusting to life in the U.S., so the Admissions office was kind enough to give me some “time off” until I felt ready… but now I’m back!

Let me catch you up on my life since India… leaving my program and the other students I met there was one of the most painful things I’ve ever done. I felt a profound connection to the other 15 girls in the program, I had fallen in love with the country, and I believed I would never again have such meaningful, life changing experiences. While I was home on Christmas break, I enjoyed seeing my family and hanging out with my friends, but there were so many times where I did or said something “Indian” and people didn’t get it, or something happened and I wanted to tell the girls from my program but they weren’t there. Still, overall, I was pretty content and I figured my feelings would fade as time went on.

When I got back to Stonehill, I was so happy to be back and see everyone. I went to the Snowball Semi-formal dance (this is a picture of me and my roommate, Kate, before the dance), got involved in my clubs and activities again, and caught up with friends. But as the days went on, I started to fall back into the feelings I had when I left India. I struggled with the fact that I am a different person now than I was last summer and felt that I was not having a significant impact on anything. I also felt pressure to come back and be the same old “well-adjusted” student… like I had this amazing experience but I should just come back and pick up right where I left off.

But don’t worry, I’ve reached a turning point! A couple of things happened: I had a great conversation with one of the student life staff here about what “well adjusted” actually means, I ran for (and won!) the Student Government Association Executive Diversity Chair position for next year, and I attended the annual Orientation Team retreat. My conversation with Liza (a wise women who runs Intercultural Affairs here at Stonehill) reminded me that I can define “well adjusted” for myself, so I have chosen to define it as using my experiences to be an insightful, helpful leader on campus. One of the ways I’ve started to accomplish this is by accepting the position of Executive Diversity Chair for next year. I’ve also put together a presentation on studying abroad in nontraditional countries with a few other students, and I am contributing more to my class discussions in my Buddhist Ethics class and my Gods and War class and working on an internship with Massachusetts Jobs with Justice. Finally, the retreat with the new freshmen orientation team (check out the picture of me on the retreat with Mike and Dan-two new members of the orientation team) reminded me that there are still meaningful, life changing experiences to be had and absolutely amazing people to meet- just in a different capacity then what happened in India.

Last week was Spring Break, and I had an amazing time catching up with friends. I attended the Scranton St. Patrick’s Day Parade and, since I am 21 now, I even got to celebrate at a popular bar downtown-check the picture on the left to see how crowded it was! When it is all said and done, I really feel like I am finally back in the swing of things. =)