How India Changed Me

After two months in India, I am not going back to Minnesota as the same girl. 

India has challenged every part of me and, as a result, I am a much stronger person. Here’s what has changed over my season in India:

• I’m a much more confident person. For so long, I looked at myself as not good enough and would point out every blemish. But now I do not worry about looking like everyone else. I have learned that God is a Creator, not a duplicator. In India, I constantly stick out because I look different, but I became accustomed to this. Now, I appreciate what I once thought were blemishes because I realize that they make me unique.

I have learned that God is a Creator, not a duplicator.

• I have been inspired to give more of myself. With the second largest population in the world, India is home to so many in need. Now that I have lived here, I have become more aware of how many families in the world need solutions and people who will follow through. I cannot return to my normal, selfish life when there are so many opportunities for me to care for others. Because of this realization, I will be signing up for my university’s inner city ministry.

 

• I understand a little more about culture around the world. Yes, India is just one country. Yes, Maharashtra is just one state within India. But, after living in this culture and emersing myself into their lifestyles, I can understand a little bit more about how they think and what they value. I have also met people from all over the world here – from Germany, Great Britain, Singapore, and even Slovakia. By making new friends, I have learned so much about the world.

 

• I appreciate quality education much more. One day, as I was helping a group of students in the school, I looked out the window to see a soliary boy sitting on a log in the adjacent field. In a tattered tshirt that must have been white a long time ago, he peered up at the school building, as if looking at a dream that he could never have. Because I believe so strongly that a quality education should be the right of every child, this scene breaks my heart. Not only will I appreciate my own education, but I know that I will work towards providing education for more children whether that means that I will become a teacher, give towards education organizations, or even facilitate an education organization myself. 

 

Those are just a few of the changes that I have taken place in my life. I could fill a whole book with situations that surprised me, problems that challenged me, and relationships that shaped me.

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When did you have a turning point in your life? Share it with me in the comments below!