Journal 1

    My name is Talia Smith. I am a 4th year social work student at Thompson Rivers University. I am a student, sister, daughter, athlete and friend. One of my dreams ever since I was a kid was to travel the world. I have been to many countries in south America, many places in the US and drove across Canada. Aswell when I was 8 years old my parents moved my family to Belize which is where we lived for a year. I am fairly comfortable with travelling especially with my family but I am new to travelling with friends. Aswell in more recent years I have developed this existential fear and an imposter syndrome that for some reason I am not old enough to travel, especially without my family. I feel like I can’t do the thing that I have wanted to do for my entire life and I feel like I have just been sitting here waiting to feel ready or waiting for a sign that I can do it but that has not come. I am going on this trip and taking this class because there is no time like the present. If I have learned anything throughout my 20 years of life so far and talking to people who are older than me is that often time you don’t get a feeling that you are doing the right thing but you just got to do it and trust that you have the support systems in place if you do it and fail. I am incredibly privileged to have friends and family that love and support me and are will to catch me when I fall, pick me back up and dust me off and then tell me to do it again. I needed that push and I am happy that I am here. I chose to come first because it is an amazing opportunity and second of all because one of my best friends is from India. She was born in Canada but her family lives here and she visits often. When I told her about this opportunity, she was so excited because she was going to help me understand her life more. That is my why. I want to understand her culture to be able to relate with her more and to be able to relate with my future clients. When I was preparing to come to India and talking to random Indian Immigrants that I met in my life in the past couple of months in Vancouver I told them I was coming to India and there faces would first be confused as to why a white women would go there and think I misspoke then they would be so excited. They would ask me what I am doing and they seemed so excited to relate to me. I feel like travelling brings people together. It help me understand where they come from a little bit more and helps me to be a better social worker. If I have the money and the privilege to travel, I want to be able to use it for good and to learn as much as I can while I am still healthy and able to.  I am so excited to likely be humbled many times in India for many different reasons but to take whatever feedback or new understanding I get and use it in my personal life and my practice. I feel like I have been very sheltered as a white, cis women growing up in Vancouver, BC and I am excited to see what is more to life and challenge my current ways of thinking and knowing. I am nervous, scared and a little terrified for several reasons but I am also excited, optimistic and hopeful that this trip will be life changing.