By: Michelle Heims
Growing up, certain values were instilled in me starting at a young age. My parents
taught me the importance of valuing yourself, your inner circle, your community, and the world, and as I grew up I realized that these spheres all build on each other. If you are not taking care of yourself, at some point you will struggle to provide for others. If your inner circle is not doing well, you might lack a sense of community or people may be unmotivated to come together. Similarly, if there are issues in your community, it can be more difficult to try and have a global impact. It can be difficult to have a global impact if a piece of the globe isn’t doing well. Similarly, I believe that if these spheres are being challenged, it can also make it harder to take care of yourself. For example, for my summer experience I will be learning about human rights, if a region lacks human rights and social justice, it can be a struggle trying to take care of yourself, your inner circle, and your community. These spheres of impact are intertwined and they build on each other like a spider web, all supporting one another. With this in mind, taking care and showing up for yourself is the foundation, like the center of the web that puts it all together. Like I said earlier, if you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t have the energy and ability to take care of others. The spider web may break into different parts, but they come together, just like how society and the world comes together piecing together the spheres of impact. When one part of the web, or one sphere breaks down, it affects all the other parts as
well. This summer, since I will be learning about human rights and social justice, I think I will broaden my perspective on what I can do for the world and my community. I would also like to build the habit of being more internationally and culturally aware, which I think I will learn greatly by going to multiple countries. I am super excited for this summer experience because I am going to countries I have not yet been to in Europe, countries that I believe I can learn a lot from regarding helping your community and the world. These countries work with NGOs, embassies, and other international organizations to help communities within and outside of their borders. Through this experience I will be exposed to different cultures and I will also be exposed to different kinds of work within human rights advocacy and international relations. This exposure can teach me invaluable information for my professional future but also for how I impact the different spheres of influence. I also think that by being away from my family in another country I will also build habits that help me better learn how to take care of myself. I am so excited to go on this trip, I am counting down the days!
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