→ This post has been pieced together since my return to America and was finished sometime in the fall of 2009:
Man oh man. Where to start…
Returning to LA really made me realize how truly unique and fabulous my summer was. The Global Impact Program ended up having more of an impact on me than I ever could have imagined.
Culture Shock Upon Return
I went through the expected, “oh my goodness this country wastes so much” and “Could the American lifestyle be more excessive?”. But I also just could not handle LA. I was disgusted by women up to 50 and girls as young as 13 wearing clothes that showed more skin than an Indian man ever gets to see of his wife. It took me two and a half weeks to even wear a tank top again (in LA summer weather) and two more weeks to feel comfortable wearing shorts.
I felt a curdling inside my heart when I noticed the amount of make-up some women wear. I wore make-up once this summer (on a fellow participant Lena’s birthday). When I came back to school, just three days after returning from India, I wore make-up to the first party I went to. For my first few nights at school I completely conformed to life as I knew it at USC (dressing cute, make up, alcohol, etc), but soon realized that was just not who I am anymore.
I had a breakdown the day before classes started because I realized how much I had changed and was afraid that I would no longer fit into the life I had created the previous year at USC. As it turned out, my friends still like me regardless of my many changes of lifestyle and they even respect many of my decisions because I’ve kind of created a new way to live at USC that is different from what we all knew before. The description of an awesome night on the weekend no longer implies a loud frat party with an open bar. Instead we can spend two hours at our kitchen table eating quesadillas, talking with accents, while laughing, joking, and engaging in pure sillyness.
My New Outlook on Life
I have not figured it out to the point of any concrete form, nor do I think I ever will, but my experiences this summer sure changed my views about a couple of things.
Compassion: I would never want to live in a world in which people do not have compassion for one another. As the Dalai Lama his holiness explains in The Art of Happiness, genuine compassion is when you understand that every person has the “innate desire to be happy and overcome suffering” and when you do all that you can to help this happen to anyone – not just friends and loved ones, but strangers too (p. 92).
Upon my return I was overwhelmed by how cold everyone is to each other and by the negative outlook on life that the majority of the population has. I want to show strangers that we can all bring each other happiness and that every person in the world can and should be kind to each other.
Location: I am so lucky to be living my life. I do not have to run barefoot on the streets pulling at strangers pant legs to get some spare change. I do not have to work three jobs to pay my way through college. I have time to volunteer and play sports and I get to choose when and to whom I want to get married. These are just a few examples of the simple things that we often take for granted. Life is so much harder for people who live in other places, or in my case here at school, down the street in the community that surrounds USC. Inclusive of chemistry exams, knee injuries, term papers and sleeping problems I would choose to live my life any day.
Happiness: I truly believe that anyone and everyone can be happy – it is often mind over matter. I am not saying that we should all be happy all the time, because there are times when we need to grieve and times when small amounts of anger can be used as motivation, but overall, the world would be a better place if everyone could say they spend the majority of their life being happy. We can do this by cherishing what is good in life, and not taking it for granted. Cherish friendship and realize how lucky we are to be connected to and supported by other people. Be aware of laughter and smiles. In some cases it is true that a person will not have friends and family, but for the people reading this blog - remember these small things that you have in your life that are good, and give thanks to them by letting happiness overcome you in their presence.
Openness: The best way to achieve happiness in your heart is through openness. Accept people and situations for who they are and what they are. Trying to change someone, or being unhappy with where you are in life is pointless. See the good intentions in those whom you are surrounded by and the good that comes out of a situation.
As much as it is important to be open in the heart, it is important be open in the mind as well. Try new things and if it turns out you don’t like it, then fine, don’t do it again, but at least you will have experienced something and will be able to relate to someone else through that experience.
All in all, my summer was life changing and I hope these are values that will not fade in my mind, as the smell and sounds of India already have.
To anyone who has yet to see what life is like in the villages or cities of an underdeveloped country, I would advise you to find means to get out there as soon as your wallet can take you.
Peace and love,
Nina
