Photo Credit: David Wallace
Photo Credit: Jamie Shaw
Photo Credit: shesingsrebellion
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbra Kingsolver is a novel that takes place in the African Congo during a time of political chaos. The Price family ventures into the Congo on a Baptist mission, completely unaware of the trials and tribulations they are about to encounter. But this is not about religion, the Price family, or The Poisonwood Bible at all, no, this is about perspective.
The only reason I mention the novel is because it was the catalyst that got me into seriously thinking about perspective and what happens when we awkwardly and usually unwillingly slip from our happy little comfort zones into the unknown, where we are forced to see life from a different perspective. When what is left of the Price family eventually make their way back to the States, they found that what was once commonplace is now another superfluous, material object. After years of living off whatever food they could scrounge up and trying to remain alive in a third world country facing poverty, political unrest, and resistance, an air-conditioned supermarket with ten different types of teeth whitener and air freshener is simply overwhelming. In the extreme case of the Price family, what were once everyday items are now a symbol of how ungrateful, materialistic, and unaware citizens of first world countries are of the lifestyle, or more so the survival style, of those in other countries. The thought of how people live in other countries then lead me down the rabbit hole of how my perspective will change when I leave to Mother England.
I am not going to pretend that moving to a different country on a continent I have never set foot on is going to be a walk in the park. In all honesty, I am really quite nervous. Why? Well besides the flight, the matter of getting to school, starting a new school with an entirely different system, moving in, becoming accustom to the new monetary and legal system, and learning the local lingo (just to mention a few), what really concerns me is leaving behind a world of friends, family, and comforts that I am entirely and completely content with. Right now it is hard to imagine not going home every so often to BBQ with the family and bringing along the special people in my life, but soon it is going to be a reality. I do not plan on making this a sob story, but more of an inquiry as to how I am going to view the UK based on my current perspective and then how my perspective on the US will change once I am back.
I feel like my experience will be comparable to moving away to college. There is of course an ample amount of excitement and curiosity, but at the same time the butterflies just don’t fly away that easily. When I moved out I certainly gained a whole new respect for my parents, all their love and responsibilities, and in addition to the multitude of other revelations, I learned a lot about myself in the process. That is what I hope to gain from going to Preston, England. I mean, it would be a blatant lie to say that I am not besides myself with the thought of travel, new friends, and an entirely new chapter, but my main goal is to use my changed perspective to learn—learn about culture, people, countries, myself, anything really—as long as my perspective is expanding.
It is a big leap to take. Whether it is moving away from home, truly and openly listening to an opposing viewpoint, or taking off to study abroad, expanding your perspective means a step toward learning, a step toward understanding, and a step away from ignorance.
