You may find when you get here that this whole vision quest idea, where your teachers and program leaders ask you to talk about how you've changed, is a tough subject to tackle. Here's what I did and how I got away with it (hehe):I have come to realize there is a difference between being affected by something and being altered by it. During my spring break, I went with my roommate to Spain for a week where we met up with my mom. There I learned that as hard as it is to be away from your family for long periods of time, I was the kind of person who could handle it. I didn't feel too homesick when I saw her, and I didn't miss her too badly when she left (still love you Mama!). Definitely affected, but altered? Not yet, I thought. From Spain, my roommate and I went to Italy. We were lost in Venice (what a maze!) for four hours in the middle of the night trying to find our hotel, which turned out to not even be on the island. I found out what it feels like to be pushed harshly out of my comfort zone and how I deal in those situations. Again, affected, but not changed. I came back to Pontlevoy expecting that maybe it would feel like home, as everyone else would later express. When I arrived, it just felt like the school I was living in; my home was still in Mississippi. Affection, but no alteration. What was I going to say at Vision Quest! I was supposed to be having some serious life-changing revelations, here! I got nothing! So I said exactly what I've said here; you can visit new places, meet new people, try new things, and still grow as a person. However, you aren't always radically changed by the experiences. It's not bad! It just means you knew yourself pretty well to begin with. You just accept the things you experience for what they are, and you keep learning.
Moral: Don't sweat vision quest; if you make up some crap that sounds convincing enough, they'll buy it.
Wish I would have had this:
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