YEAR 1: Throughout the Connections to Community project I demonstrated cura personalis in my patience and understanding of my group members' schedules. While we picked a day ahead of time to visit our city, a member had family issues and another member felt sick which lead us to rescheduling. While I was a little disappointed we could not stick to the original plans, I looked at the bigger picture and realized what was more important. I felt I was patient with my group and worked hard with them to find a time that fit everybody's schedule. On the day that we traveled to Evanston, a member explained she planned to meet a friend at Northwestern. She already felt guilty she was trying to do both activities at once. My personality makes it hard for me to understand and accept when others deviate from the schedule. Everyday, I try to be open and more kind to others than I was the day previous. I felt I could have demonstrated cura personalis by reassuring her it was fine so she would not feel as guilty. Now that the assignment is complete, I identify my strengths in group work as organizing and planning out the trip and putting together the presentation. I contacted all the individuals in my group by adding them on Facebook,  researched the best places to go in Evanston, and put together an itinerary for my group. I worked very hard in ensuring that time was well spent and we stayed on schedule.  Now that the assignment is complete, I identify my limitation in group work as not being open-minded enough and being controlling. While we were there, a member in my group wished to check out another part of Evanston which was not on my list. I was frustrated and did not say anything. We were running short on time, so we did not have time to visit anyway, but I wish I had been more carefree and allowed for every member to describe their feelings or go where they want. I am trying to work on this and hopefully I will get better at it! Looking back at this trip, however, my group and I would have to say it was successful. It allowed for us to better know the people in our dorms and allowed us to explore another city so close to our home for four years.

YEAR 4: Now as I look back read over my reflection from my first year, some parts stay the same and some are starkly different. I am proud that I was able to identify my strengths within a community then, and I would still identify with them now. I appreciate how I used this project as a way to catapult my way into a new community and try to understand another city.

Community for me now centers around the organizations I now call home. As an active member of GlobeMed, I meet with other students with strong passions in public health. Through Peer Advising, I am able to connect with first year students and I am able to work with leaders all across campus. Student Leadership Development has helped me target different populations on campus and create inclusive and engaging programs for these populations to attend. Community has become something I work to better and something I consider a part of at Loyola, which I didn't necessarily my first year here. 

Living in Rogers Park, I have become aware of the local issues pertaining to the community here. As a first year, I considered my self a suburbanite and would say my community was still Grayslake. However, now, my community is Rogers Park and I believe I have become an activist for the community that I live in. I see the inequities in education on a daily basis, especially when I volunteered at Madonna Mission. I see first hand the issues with poverty and homelessness. However, I also see the beauty in expression and art that this community is known for.