Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Life after Loyola

During Tuesday’s class a rush of insecurity came over me. As soon as Dr. Ellis wrote the daunting question of “What is your highest purpose?” I immediately thought I was going to dread my blog for this week because not only do I have no clue as to what I will be doing after college, but I feel that everyone around me has their life planned out.

Entering college I thought I knew exactly what I wanted out of life, and I had everything planned, but now after my four years at Loyola, I have been presented with so many experiences that have swayed my perspective. Instead of being caught up on what career I want out of life, and how much money I want to make, I have been looking at the bigger questions in life and wonder “What do I believe that I deserve in this life?” (83).

Just like in Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love, I feel that I am in a transition stage, and I am ready to come face to face with reality and begin a journey of self discovery. When Liz wrote about the conversation with her mom, and the jealousy of her life and relationships, I began to think about my freshmen year. When I entered Loyola, I did not know what I wanted out of life; I only knew that I was interested in science and English. Out of my two fields of study, I have to say that most of the meaningful learning and lectures have originated in English courses. My English courses have provided me with service learning and insightful conversations that cover many various fields of study. Don’t get me wrong, I have accomplished many goals within my Biology major, but when is dissecting a squid or watching a frog’s heart beat on a string come into play within my journey of self discovery? I love learning about science, I find it very interesting but my point is that without my English courses I don’t think I would be who I am today.

Like I noted I have taken part in multiple service learning’s, all of which have happened to be within my English courses. These experiences have made me reflect on Liz’s question of “What do I believe that I deserve” (83) because not only do I ask that to myself, but I cannot help to think, what doe others deserve? My highest purpose in life is to help others, to make sure justice is still present in our society. If there is one thing that I can take from Loyola, it’s that there are people out there who have it worse then you, whether it’s financially, emotionally, physically, etc. When ever I find myself having a bad day, or complaining about something that went wrong, I stop think about it, and feel guilty.

Life is too short to dwell on the negative and Eat, Pray, Love is a perfect example of Liz coming to terms with life and the ability to keep on moving on. Gilbert’s story is filled with many experiences anyone can relate to, whether you find her as amazing person (which I do!) or hate her for whining about her problems, we have all been there. Her message is beautiful and I find it inspiring that she allowed all of us to read her darkest secrets. Her story allowed me to come to terms with my insecurity, and realize that maybe it is okay that I have no clue, and that I shouldn’t force myself into expectations derived from others.

Reflecting back on my college career has made me notice how much I have transitioned, and how my point of view has matured. I remember sitting in my Travel Literature class, and we were discussing when a person is considered an adult, and I think I now can classify myself as an adult.

Even though I have no clue what I want to do with my life, I think I have a good foundation, and I am ready to go from their. Entering college, I noticed how organized and anal retentive I was, I think I have learned to relax and really appreciate life. Just like in Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love, instead I feel that we all are on our own personalized journeys to “Italy”, “India”, and “Bali”.

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