We wonder when we wander. What will we find? Who will we meet? Why do we wander? Is it to find the purpose of our existence? To learn the ways of the world? Wonder no more as you read through my journey as a Masters of Theological Studies student at the Harvard Divinity School.
During my Junior year abroad in Bologna, Italy, I had the opportunity to work with refugees from Africa. With a task to create a short documentary, I spent hours at a theatre organization called Cantieri Meticci, where I watched the artistic expression of oppressed individuals. It was beautiful, saddening, jarring, and enlightening. Once my group and I finished, we shared the documentary with the rest of the students. For about 10 minutes, we captured their presence, but once it was over there was little time for reflection. It seemed as if very few people had fully taken in the raw emotions displayed. On one of the last days, all of the students and I met with another refugee and he asked one simple question, “what will you do when you go home?”
This question inspired my personal statement for Harvard Divinity School. Part of the application requires a short essay explaining why I wanted to apply, what resources would I use, and why would I be a better candidate than another individual. With thousands of intelligent people applying to Harvard, I was nervous to write this essay, but once I thought back on my experiences, I was inspired to make a change and become a thought leader.
For the next two years I will be living in Cambridge, Massachusetts pursuing a degree in religion and the social sciences, a.k.a. looking at religion through an anthropological, ethnographical, societal, and philosophical lens. The main topic I would like to research involves refugees affected by climate change and how they use religion in their forced migration. With a dream to become an investigative journalist or work at the United Nations, global migration is a concerning topic at the forefront of humans rights issues. The world is not getting bigger, population sizes are rising, the Earth’s climate is warming, and we still have time to make change. But it must be focused and it must be fast.
With a strong drive to write about the lives of the oppressed, I hope to give a voice to those who are more often than not unheard. Each week I will be posting a short piece discussing either what I am learning in my classes, my thoughts on certain events and speakers on campus, day-to-day nonsense (surviving Boston winters), and other topics that may peak your interest. If you would like to hear about a certain topic that fits into my studies, send me an email on the contact page.
Join me on my journey as Wheeler wanders the world.