Beloit and Beyond by https://padlet.com/emterfr/v0e2ujl3vhzjejvl en-us 2021-11-09 18:20:50 UTC 2023-09-13 16:47:02 UTC hello@padlet.com 1. What did I bring? emterfr https://padlet.com/emterfr/v0e2ujl3vhzjejvl/wish/1879130264 I like little objects, these are three of many that I brought with me and they all have special meaning to me. 
Before coming to Beloit I had to "pack up my life" and choose what I needed with me for the next nine months, as it became clear my suitcase was too heavy, I began to panic, it felt impossible to leave these many little objects behind because for some reason they feel like little pieces of me because they are pieces of the people I love. The people I had to leave behind. 
The angel and the figurine are both from my mother (mama really) and are symbolic to me of calm energy and protective love. I know she is thinking of me and watching out for me, despite being so far away (3,955 miles to be exact). The bird is from my little brother, though he doesn't often say I love you or ever give me a hug, the care and thought that he put into making this bird stays with me. ]]> 2021-11-09 18:23:03 UTC https://padlet.com/emterfr/v0e2ujl3vhzjejvl/wish/1879130264 4. How have I changed? emterfr https://padlet.com/emterfr/v0e2ujl3vhzjejvl/wish/1879131914 I think I have learned to go with the flow. When it came to university, I prioritised studying over everything else and isolated myself in the library. Here, however, I have learned to go with the flow a little more, to stay at commons longer, and sit and talk, to say yes to go to things, jump off the deep end sometimes, be vulnerable, open myself to opportunity, even if it might hurt afterward. This whole year is an exercise in learning to jump off the deep end, into things that might scare me, relationships that might scare me, especially because I know that soon I will have to leave and might never see these new friends again. I am learning to enjoy experiences in the moment, rather than not allow myself to experience because I know they will have to end. ]]> 2021-11-09 18:23:44 UTC https://padlet.com/emterfr/v0e2ujl3vhzjejvl/wish/1879131914 6. What represents me? emterfr https://padlet.com/emterfr/v0e2ujl3vhzjejvl/wish/1879133785 I think number 1. They listen and they hear, represents me most, or at least I would like it to. 
Listening and hearing are incredibly important to conversation, and I hope to be able to make space for everyone to express what they most want to express, and to be able to empathize.]]> 2021-11-09 18:24:27 UTC https://padlet.com/emterfr/v0e2ujl3vhzjejvl/wish/1879133785 7. What are my new skills? emterfr https://padlet.com/emterfr/v0e2ujl3vhzjejvl/wish/1879134218 I believe that being here I have become a more effective communicator. Though I still have a long way to go, I have become more confident speaking and I have learned some of the importance of dialogue as a way of knowing (we read some of Freire's pedagogy in one of my classes). Perhaps what often holds me back is a doubt of my knowledge and what I have to contribute, but dialogue is a way of sharing experiences, identifying problems, creating knowledge and formulating solutions. In this way we might hope to transform or build our world.]]> 2021-11-09 18:24:38 UTC https://padlet.com/emterfr/v0e2ujl3vhzjejvl/wish/1879134218 8. Who have I met? Who is my network? emterfr https://padlet.com/emterfr/v0e2ujl3vhzjejvl/wish/1879134868 I have met many, many foxes. My network began as a network of this year's international students, some older than me and some younger, I have so many places I can visit now! This network has expanded to include many domestic students too, now I have a reason to come back.
Relationships are based on communication, showing up when people need it and being vulnerable. To me people always grow more and more beautiful the more I know them, from my original image of them they change shape to become more and more vibrant. This is what I feel seeing with your heart is, being open to allowing people to change shape and build a network.]]> 2021-11-09 18:24:54 UTC https://padlet.com/emterfr/v0e2ujl3vhzjejvl/wish/1879134868 9. What future worlds do you want to build? emterfr https://padlet.com/emterfr/v0e2ujl3vhzjejvl/wish/1879136119 Most of all I would like to begin connecting with my communities more and learn in what ways I can help bring change. As of yet my future is still quite unclear, I'm not entirely sure where I am headed, however, Beloit has helped offer some possible paths, such as possible internships at the public library or the Beloit Historical Society. One might help me understand where to place my belief in the importance of storytelling in the wider world while the other might help me explore my belief that an understanding of our history is essential to understanding who we are as humans and creating change. ]]> 2021-11-09 18:25:24 UTC https://padlet.com/emterfr/v0e2ujl3vhzjejvl/wish/1879136119 2. Where do I fit in? emterfr https://padlet.com/emterfr/v0e2ujl3vhzjejvl/wish/1879140771 Commons is a place that has made me feel welcomed and a sense of belonging. In the UK we have to cook for ourselves, and I never knew that what I was missing out on with no cafeteria was not food but companionship. Commons is often a highlight of my day, I can spend hours there talking to my friends. In a way it feels like a space separated from everything else such as school stress. 
I also like the way in which it allows me to talk to new people, from random conversations at the waffle maker, to being invited to sit with a new group of people, or friends bring new people to your table. It feels incredibly healing after the last year and a half of lockdowns. ]]> 2021-11-09 18:27:16 UTC https://padlet.com/emterfr/v0e2ujl3vhzjejvl/wish/1879140771 3. Who am I? emterfr https://padlet.com/emterfr/v0e2ujl3vhzjejvl/wish/1879143300 I am Francesca, I belong to many places (Germany, Australia, the UK and the US), and I don't quite know where I am going yet. However, I believe I see myself as more independent and capable, and perhaps more self-assured. I think I have also learnt the importance of people to me, of friends. Perhaps due to covid, it seems clearer than ever that people make me better. 
And though I feel I belong to many places, in a strange way Beloit has made me feel more grounded, content to be anchored to the present moment and place.]]> 2021-11-09 18:28:12 UTC https://padlet.com/emterfr/v0e2ujl3vhzjejvl/wish/1879143300 5. What have I learned? emterfr https://padlet.com/emterfr/v0e2ujl3vhzjejvl/wish/1879143868 "In one of the stars, I shall be living. In one of them, I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night...You — only you — will have stars that can laugh.”

Perhaps this quote seems especially salient because it is hard to forget that in December some of my friends here will leave, to go back to their home institutions, and next June I will do the same. Sometimes it is hard to prevent sweet moments from being pierced by this recollection. So, this quote reminds me that distance is not the end all be all, but rather I will see my friends in everything around me, and I am pretty lucky to have such beautiful hidden meanings in everywhere.
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