I want to be challenged. I want to know poverty, to see it, to feel it, and to understand how my lifestyle affects it. I want to forget how luxury feels, how close comfort is, and instead depend on only what is essential. I want to learn the history of a people, of a land, of a culture not my own. I want to know the roots and the consequences of the conflicts, the atrocities, and the injustices perpetuated in a foreign land by my home country. I want to need my faith in God, yearn for prayer, struggle for understanding, and surrender to a power much greater than my own. I want to live a life that practices all that I believe, in simplicity, intentionality and active love. For all of these deep-rooted desires, I want the challenge that is participating in the Casa de la Solidaridad program, to walk with and learn from the people of El Salvador.
The person that I am today and the desires that have led me to this application have been formed by important relationships and experiences throughout my life. As Thomas Merton said, “In the end, it is the reality of personal relationships that saves everything”. From the compassion and kindness I learned from my parents to the relationships that I have formed with fellow students, friends, mentors, Catholic Workers, and Jesuits since coming to college, personal relationships have challenged me and motivated me to keep learning, growing and discovering what it means to live an active love. Through Casa program, in its commitment to students walking with the Salvadorian people and living in intentional communities, I could continue to discover those formative relationships that have taught me so much.
Considering what experience has led me to the Casa application, I recall the first time I attended the School of the Americas Vigil outside of Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia. Participating in the vigil, at the age of seventeen, opened my eyes, my mind and most importantly, my heart. That experience challenged me to look further, beyond myself, and to see myself as wholly connected to my fellow human beings. At the vigil, I went to the Catholic mass hosted by the Ignatian Solidarity Network. I had attended private Catholic schools my entire life, but this experience was different. In the homily, I heard a call to action to end injustice. I felt a connection between my faith and the activism that surrounded me that weekend. I found within me a passion for learning and action, a passion that led me to attend the vigil the next year, the year after that, and again this past year. That passion made it clear to me that I wanted to attend a Jesuit university. My education thus far at Loyola has affirmed that choice and inspired me to seek a similar study abroad experience, one that promotes justice and solidarity, through the Casa program. I have been formed by the growth and strength of the communities that I have found in the years following the vigil, and hope to grow through the Casa community as well.
I anticipate that the there will be experiences through the Casa program that challenge me both on the surface and at the core of who I am. In conversations with Casa alumni, it became evident that this particular study abroad experience would not always be comfortable. Challenges, such as food, language, and cultural adjustments are ones that I anticipate will make life less comfortable, but also provide an opportunity for growth. There are other challenges that I anticipate will affect me on a much deeper level. I anticipate that it will be difficult to hear the stories of Salvadorians and their history, as there are many stories of great pain and suffering. It will also be hard for me to adjust to a culture not my own, where women may be treated very differently than they are in the United States. Finally, I anticipate that it will be overwhelming to transition back into my life in the United States after experiencing the reality of living with the Salvadorian people. It is these challenges, and the many more I cannot now anticipate, that may teach me the most about myself and invite me to grow in deeper connection to other people.
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