Gilman responses

Funny that it took a mandatory survey evaluation that I have to fill out for the Gilman Scholarship to get me to update this blog... ;)

Before studying abroad, I was very uncertain whether I would pursue law or teaching as a career after graduation. The prospect of being a nonprofit lawyer seemed very attractive to me and I thought that it was perhaps the best option out of the two. But Oxford has taught me a lot more about myself and made me realize that my true passions reside in my love of English literature and writing and that I want to remain in academia in order to share my knowledge with others, giving them the resources to understand and interpret literature for themselves and apply its many themes and motifs in their own lives.

This is especially true when I relate my academic experience at Oxford with the volunteer work I did at the OK Club, a Christian youth charity in London founded in the 1950s by Oxford students. Many of the young people who attend the Club are only introduced to classical pieces of literature in secondary school. Although some of the young people read on their own or write as a hobby, many lack the proper mentorship to really flourish their talents. I realized in developing relationships with these young people the influence that I can make as a secondary school English teacher, and the way it can challenge me to explore the field of English literature, pushing me to constantly reinterpret literature upon every read and always discovering something new in the text that was not thought of before. The prospect excites me and would not have come to my mind in such a way if it were not for my experience studying abroad. For this reason and countless others, I am extremely thankful for this opportunity.

My entire life has changed because of this study abroad experience. It seemed that all of the things that people say about studying abroad came true for me upon living in a different country for more than 6 months. The past half-year or so of my life can be classified as cinematic as I feel transformed as a character in a film and the series of events which have occurred to me seem less like real life and more like a brilliant movie script. I arrived in Oxford having never been independent of my parents for more than a short time, and always being taken care of by someone somewhere. I left Oxford knowing how to cook, clean, organize and reorganize in a very short amount of time for a good number of people. I left more mature than I was before and more able to adapt to tough, stressful, and urgent situations. My experience abroad has pushed me academically, emotionally, spiritually. I have been challenged in being a Chinese-American and have come to terms with my identity as both nationalities, finding peace with my identity by defining myself based on my Christian faith rather than on any other form of being distinguished as a person.

Oxford University has been quite a challenge and as a result, it has prepared me adequately to tackle the rest of my time at DePauw University and effectively any graduate school program I choose to attend. It has challenged me to think beyond and go further with my writing, and effectively, it will make me a terrific teacher one day as I push my students to reach their potential as I have been pushed to reach mine. In addition, I have made close friends in England who I will keep in touch consistently and have gladly called them sisters for their constant support and encouragement. I have had the pleasure of visiting their homes respectively and meeting their families, being introduced to the English lifestyle as well as its many beautiful landmarks. I have fallen in love with a half-English, half-Scottish bloke from Birmingham who has blown my original plans out of the water and made me seriously consider moving to the United Kingdom permanently one day to start my life with him. My experience has been deep, moving, and painfully brilliant, and I would not give it up for the world. It has changed my life forever and shaped me into a better person. I see things with more open eyes than before and I'm happier as a result.

<3