Entry Five: Livin' on a Prayer

Lizzie Revay
Oct 31, 2018
7 min read

Woah, we're halfway there

Woah, livin' on a prayer

Take my hand, we'll make it I swear

Woah, livin' on a prayer

- Bon Jovi, Livin' on a Prayer

If you are so inspired, below is a link to the aforementioned song meant for you to listen to while reading or to "dance it out" to in your own free time:

It is true

somehow we are "halfway there"

somehow we have reach what is about the half way point of my time in India,

WOW... okay

When I endeavored to write this blog, I knew that this post would be a nod to "Livin' on a Prayer," as this song has been quite important to me since my freshman year of high school when I ran winter track.

My friends and I would get through about half of whatever arduous workout our coaches has laid out for us and then we would start singing at the top of our lungs the chorus of Livin' on a Prayer (all things considered we probably annoyed a great many of our fellow runners as we were almost always out of breath and definitely out of tune). Nevertheless after singing, it seemed like all exhaustion evaporated and we were always able to continue the run with new found energy.

What I didn't expect, when I planned this all out, was that I would have a similar feeling of rejuvenation as this half way point in India has come to pass.

For whatever reason, with the closing of month three and the beginning of month four, I felt an overwhelming sense of exhaustion. I was physically, mentally, socially, and culturally tired in a way that I could not quite explain nor was I familiar with.

I often felt myself questioning why I didn't go and get job or continue my education like all of my other friends after we graduated. And then I felt bad about having these thoughts because I'm on this great adventure, why was I not having fun... I must be doing it all wrong.

But, this month, for whatever inexplicable reason, I feel like I have woken up. I have reminded myself that I am in India and that it was high time that I start enjoying myself again.

Lessons Learned

In integral part of enjoying an experience such as this is recognizing learning and growth. Reflecting back, I sometimes question if I am learning more then I am teaching.

So here is my halfway reflection, acknowledging the strides I have made but the room for growth still withstanding:

*** Note: While writing these paragraphs, I often found myself struggling to find the right words, so please forgive my inability of describing everything to the full extent

Lesson #1: Shout out to Summer Camp

I am a summer camp counsellor. I believe in camp...

I believe that camp makes a difference in ever camper's life, as well as my own...

I believe that every child should have the opportunity to attend camp at some point in their lives

Camp is good, no, camp is great. In fact, I believe camp is the best place to be.

- Excerpts from "The Camp Counselor Manifesto"

Perhaps one of the first lessons that I learned when I came to India was how important and helpful it was that I attended summer camp as a child and then as a counsellor.

Those that know me, know that summer camp has always been important to me, more of a second home then anything else could ever come close to being (and I know that I am not the only person to ever feel this way, nor is Camp Jewell the only camp that can inspire such a feeling).

I have always felt most at home with Camp people because generally they are all pretty good people, and became that way because what summer camp teaches you. (Half of my friends from home had some relation to camp, my roommate from college was a camp person and it goes without saying that I was excited when I found out that Trey was also a camp person)

Camp a place of acceptance despite diversity or quirks, everyone needs to learn to live with each other in one cabin, one community. You learn that people have different opinions and that space needs to be given to express those opinions even if they are different from your own. You need to be open and you need to listen. All important things to keep in mind when you are thrown into a completely different culture.

Additionally, camp is where you learn that comfort zones are flexible, changeable and the importances of pushing them further, sometimes further then you previously thought you ever could. I can honestly say that I don't think I would have gone halfway around the world without learning this lesson, meaning I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for camp.

Lesson #2: Striking a Balance

Step with care and great tact. And remember that life's a great balancing act

-Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go

Up until this point I think that everyone my age has had one sole purpose in life and that is to get an education and go to college. To do that you need to keep busy, keep your grades up but also have a full resume before you graduate.

I think we are often so busy doing these two things that we forget about balance. We are either moving so much that we forget to eat or sleep, or we crash and don't get out of bed/off the couch for a week (maybe that's just me).

When entering the real world, we are already burned out.

While here I have seen more of an emphasis on the idea and importance of resting, taking time at the end of the work day to sit, drink tea, taste the food you are eating, play with your friends for a short while, go for a run and then go in and do what you need to do.

For adults, work is often left at work (what a concept) and when they come home they are at home. No wonder the area has such a strong sense of community as they actually make time to live in community.

In addition to the greater American teenager society as a whole, I am also a very stressed out person who has never known how to stop.

But here, trying to live a more balanced life, I found that I am able to relax and find a sense of peace. I make time to color, to read, to run, to sleep, to relax. I do not live my life like everything will end if I do not do this assignment, project, lesson, job, perfectly.

With this somewhat more calm persona taking hold, I have lost weight, my skin has cleared up, I am able to fall asleep at night, I'm not constantly nauseous, and most importantly, I am smiling again!

It with this evidence that I tell you that it is so important to keep a balance in life, though I know it always seems so impossible.

Lesson #3: The Importance of Travel

"To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries"

- Aldous Huxley

One of the more apparent lesson, I have learned are the benefits of travel and experiencing the different. It is so easy to make assumptions about a place that you have never been to, actually going to those places and meeting a wide range of people can not only prevent prejudice but also help you to recognize different aspects of your own culture that you haven't previously thought about.

Living in the times we do, it is of growing importance to understand those who are different from yourself, it is as simple as that

Lesson #4: Why I Needed to Take a Year

"As undergraduates, [Stonehill] College strives to prepare students for service to the common good and the practice of responsible citizenship, so that they may lead lives of meaning and purpose. The Stonehill Service Corps deeply enhances this education by offering recent Stonehill graduates opportunities for personal and professional growth, as well as the chance to experience cultural integration and service, discover a new sense of community, and grow in love of God and neighbor."

- Description of the Stonehill Service Corp found on its website

Despite sometimes questioning whether or not this was the right choice for me, I have come to realize through some substantial reflection that it was exactly what I needed.

I have never been good with change.

As it turns out, graduating from college is a big change.

You are essentially entering the "real world," a world that most only flirt with until that fateful day when they hand you your diploma.

To be honest, I don't think I was ready to enter into that world quite yet because I'm not sure I wanted to because, well, change. And while I recognize that such a statement is rather juvenile, I also think it is important. It's important because what I do feel while here is that I am gaining a sense of readiness and wanting, that was not there before. I am getting ready to start the rest of my life.

The great era of formal schooling has ended, and I have the world ahead of me, I am free to decide what I want to spend the rest of my hours doing. Sometime you have to go half way around the world to realize all that there is to offer, and to gain an excitement rather then a fear of that prospect.

I recognize that not everyone wants or needs to do a year such as this, but as I have come to realize over the past couple of months is that I did. I needed to take the year to learn these lessons and the more there are to come. I needed it to grow, so that when I come back I can be my best self doing what ever I choose to be.