Alana Kalin
Project One: September 25th, 2006
Victorian Literature E375L: Bump
When I was younger I wanted to be an astronaut so I would be able to see and do “everything, everything, everything!” Also as a kid I loved art, all things messy, sparkly and almost anything that led to trouble. These loves remain, and since I’ve grown passions for meeting new people, reading, equal rights, facts, museums, lacrosse games, theme parties, farmers’ markets, people watching, learning about global warming and birth order . . . but as the list grew, so did my frustration with what I would choose as my one passion. Then I examined my first aspiration of being an astronaut. I wanted to be an astronaut because I wanted to experience as much of the world, and beyond, as possible. Simply to experience is my passion and is satiated and enhanced best by living outside of a comfort zone.
According to Einstein, we are “but a speck in an unfathomably large universe” [1]. Einstein’s statement, juxtaposed with our roadmap projects, which forced us to examine our “place” in the world, urges us to acknowledge the world’s splendor and our small place in it. Yet, how much of our place is dictated by our own decisions, “how have we transcended accidents of being born in a specific time and space?” [2].
For me
transcendence is achieved by living in places unlike the place I was
raised. Living “abroad” (which is
in quotation marks as I use this term loosely to mean anywhere outside the
comfort zone) develops a sense of the bigger picture, and allows for adventures;
my bliss. Joseph Campbell wrote
that when “you follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has
been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life you ought to
be
living is the one you are” [3]. Unlike others, my passion does not lend
itself to anything vocational, at least not any career I’ve yet discovered.
Hopefully it will create a clearer
view of the life I should be living in terms ventures I pursue, jobs
included. This bliss, my passion
for adventure, new places and people will continue to help me lead the life I
“ought to be living” [4]. Constant
curiosity enhances and creates a deeper understanding of self in terms of
attitudes, ideas and lifestyles.
Discovery has always been a source of excitement for me. For most of us, living in 
university
he is mainly the creature of foreign influences and circumstances and made up of
accidents” [5]. It is our
duty to play an active role in our own destinies and break from being products
of circumstance. Living abroad is
not the only way to break from circumstance, a change of lifestyle could produce
this change as well. The important aspect of living “abroad” is immersion in the
unknown.
Embracing the adventurous
lifestyle of the
Kiwis Some of my favorite
“Cowboys”
I have taken this idea to a geographical extreme, as my passion has led
to diary entries describing life in
conservation, as the isolated
country’s prosperity and survival very much depends on the unified conservation
efforts of its citizens. More than
simply traveling within a country, living and volunteering in
Rekindling a relationship
with Orthodox
Cousins
Living in
York
belongs to the world, as I could not imagine a more diverse place on the
planet. Living amongst a multitude
of different kinds of people helped me better understand myself simply by
comparison, and enabled me to appreciate my open minded upbringing, far from
either coast. Life in New York also
opened my eyes to the fact that there are interesting happenings everyday, so
never stop exploring. The self
awareness gained throughout the process of living abroad is one of the most
important qualities in a leader.
During my first visit home November of freshman year, I felt like the student that John Newman describes in Idea of a University, who had a:
"Sensation which perhaps he never had before . . . He will perhaps be borne forward, and find for a time that he has lost his bearings. He has made a certain progress, and he has a consciousness of mental enlargement; he does not stand where he did, he has a new centre, and a range of thoughts to which he was before a stranger” [7].
It was amongst a group of old friends at home, who scattered around the country for school, that I recognized this new dynamism of self that was true for all of us. We had never lived outside Midwestern suburbia; doing so was leading us “to be forever curiously testing new opinions and courting new impressions” [8]. My world was broadened by living in Austin for a few months, and it is just a city in one state, in one country of 193 overall. This was the starting point of a lifetime of new experiences and adventures and this excitement.
Learning life lessons from Israeli peers
I am not implying that living in Texas for a few months made
me, voted “most enthusiastic” in high school, suddenly want to embrace life;
I’ve always done that. It helped me
begin to recognize the qualities and desires that continue to be developed and
fed as a result of leaving home two years ago and living in other cultures. It also provided fertile grounds for
cultivating other qualities such as confidence, adaptability and optimism. As I continue to experience more cultures
and people, the smaller the world seems as similarities can be just as striking
as differences. While in Israel I forged
friendships
with soldiers who at my age had experienced tragedies and hardships I can’t
fathom enduring. Yet these same
young adults spend their free time enjoying life as I do. Suddenly Israeli conflicts had a face,
or dozens of faces, associated with them.
I now appreciate that they are fighting because they are products of
their circumstance. I could have just as easily been in a green suit serving as
a medic or tank commander, rather than studying for tests.
An important lesson I have learned through my interactions is that every student, soldier, CEO, rock star and professor in the world has experienced love, failure, excitement and embarrassment at some point. Being cognizant of the common ground between myself and almost anyone makes the world and its people seem smaller and unified. The more places and people I encounter, the greater this truth becomes. Hopefully, this realization will provide comfort while living in Buenos Aires next year.
But
connections are not solely what I seek from the unfamiliar. I sought out Texans who do not in any
way think like I do as I love to hear others stories and engage in challenging
discussions. I came to appreciate
that I have no right to think that a certain idea is more correct than another,
especially if I was not cognizant of their point of view in the first
place. How can a person know if his
or her way of life is best for them, having never experienced another? This question rises every time I meet
someone who has not and does not want to experience any other culture, place or
lifestyle other than their own. I
am frustrated and puzzled by those who lack the desire to try new things. Yet I have gained self awareness through
these people as I would not have fully realized my passion for novelty without
being perturbed and arguing with those who stubbornly remain in New York City or
Texas or Minnesota (just fill in the blank) their entire lives. Through debate and continued contact with
others I am able to generate new ideas as well as solidify existing ones. By being challenged and challenging
others, I am coming to resemble an “emotionally self aware leader” who is
“candid and authentic, able to speak openly about emotions or with conviction
about a guiding vision” [9].
Experiencing and
adjusting to life in Bedouin tents in the
Other
aspects of living abroad promote leadership qualities such as optimism,
adaptability and social awareness as well.
Living abroad expands human understanding and makes a person “able to get
along well with people of diverse backgrounds or from different cultures” by
placing that person in a situation with no other options, as I was in the
Bedouin tents [10]. Everyday while
one is outside of a comfort zone one must adapt to the inevitable ambiguities
and variances before them. While
living in Manhattan, I soon came to appreciate the direct nature of its
natives. I not only grew to
appreciate instead of be offended by the “no-nonsense” attitudes, I became more
forthright myself. I have noticed
this type of flexibility developed while immersed in different cultures;
adaptability to new challenges becomes a part of everyday life. I can only begin to imagine the
communication obstacles I will encounter while living in Buenos Aires; the
different language, country, continent and hemisphere will certainly create
barriers. Yet, if an entrenched
directness was a souvenir from a short few months in New York, I can’t wait to
see what I bring home from half a year in South America.
Qualities and unique attitudes encountered abroad are potentially absorbed, but life outside a comfort zone promotes inner growth as well. For example, initiative is gained while abroad, since the joy found in new experiences promotes the creation and seizure of other opportunities as well. I’ve been told that “most people spend more time planning their grocery shopping than designing their future” [11]. The difference between efficacious people and those who only dream is the ability to generate new ideas and take action. I have found that I always regret the things I didn’t do, rather than the things I did. This principle continues to hold steady with every new adventure, and I try to continue to create opportunities for myself as I have experienced the benefits of doing so. Efficacious attractive and successful because it takes both confidence and verve to acknowledge that one controls their own destiny then do it, as is necessary for those who go abroad. Knowing that there is more to come
Not every person who goes “abroad” will necessarily undergo life changes as it is possible to leave ones comfort zone only to create a new one. But the most rewarding experiences are just outside of these zones. Ram Dass’s revelation that to “regain perspective, our feeling of confinement as narrow, limited, isolated entities begins to dissolve as we take a few steps back and recognize that who we are is ‘this’” characterizes results of living in a new culture. It allows for thoughts and feelings that you could not have had otherwise [12]. Thomas Carlyle’s solution to dullness and a focus on self is work; mine is to experience new places. Carlyle concludes Sartor Resartus with, “Be no longer a Chaos, but a world, or even Worldkin. Produce! Produce! Were it but the pitifullest infinitesimal fraction of a Product, produce it, in God’s name!” [13]. In reply I say, be in the world. Live! Live! Should it seem but the most insignificant action, try it, do it, in God’s name!
Total Words: 2,115
Without quotations or picture labels: 1,777
Words deleted: 94
Words added: 369
Notes
1. Einstein, Albert “Project One Directions” in Victorian Literature, ed. Jerome Bump
2. Newman, John H. "The Idea of a University," in Victorian Literature, ed. Jerome Bump (Austin, TX: Jenn's Copy, 2006), 310
3. Campbell, Joseph. "The Power of Myth," in Victorian Literature, ed. Jerome Bump (Austin, TX: Jenn's Copy, 2006), 48
4. Campbell, Joseph. "The Power of Myth," in Victorian Literature, ed. Jerome Bump (Austin, TX: Jenn's Copy, 2006), 48
5. Newman, John H. "The Idea of a University," in Victorian Literature, ed. Jerome Bump (Austin, TX: Jenn's Copy, 2006), 320
6. “Emotional Intelligence.” in Victorian Literature, ed. Jerome Bump (Austin, TX: Jenn's Copy, 2006), 42
7. Newman, John H. "The Idea of a University," in Victorian Literature, ed. Jerome Bump (Austin, TX: Jenn's Copy, 2006), 310
8. Pater, Walter “The Child in the House,” in Victorian Literature, ed. Jerome Bump (Austin, TX: Jenn's Copy, 2006), 278
9. “Emotional Intelligence.” in Victorian Literature, ed. Jerome Bump (Austin, TX: Jenn's Copy, 2006), 43
10. “Emotional Intelligence.” in Victorian Literature, ed. Jerome Bump (Austin, TX: Jenn's Copy, 2006), 44
11. Scharenbroich, James. Motivational Speaker at Hopkins High School, 2003
12. Dass, Ram. "How Can I Help," in Victorian Literature, ed. Jerome Bump (Austin, TX: Jenn's Copy, 2006), 160
13. Carlyle, Thomas. "Sartor Resartus," in Victorian Literature, ed. Jerome Bump (Austin, TX: Jenn's Copy, 2006), 369