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| Austin Dillon ('22) |
One year ago today, I had never traveled
outside the borders of the contiguous United States. At the time, my
visualization of travel abroad involved soothing travel and relaxed
vacationing. Little did I know that in a few short months, that perception would
be shattered when I traveled to Kolkata, India.
Throughout the first semester of my senior
year, I was involved in a water quality research project through the University
of Kentucky and the U.S. State Department’s Mission to India. Multiple schools
in both India and Kentucky participated, and the team from each country with
the highest-scored research proposal would be given the opportunity to present
their research in an exchange with the other country.
For our project, my team and I researched
the health risks associated with our local groundwater wells. After countless
hours spent collecting samples, conducting tests, and writing drafts, we
submitted our work for final review. In a few short weeks, we were shocked when
a team from the University of Kentucky showed up at our school to inform us
that we had won the competition. In a few short months, we would be traveling
to India.
Once the initial nerves and excitement
wore off, we began preparing for our new adventure. We bought clothes, electric
adapters, snacks, and neck pillows. We called our banks to inform them that we
would be making transactions abroad. We met with our advisors to hammer out the
most minute final details of our trip. We were flawlessly prepared for our long
journey. There was nothing that could stand in our way now.
Nothing, that is, except mechanical issues
on our United Airlines flight from Lexington, Kentucky to Newark, New Jersey. A
new plane would have to be flown in from Chicago to take us to our destination.
The expected delay time: three hours. No big deal, right? Unfortunately, our
layover did not permit that much of a delay. It was decided - we would be
missing our scheduled flight to Delhi.
To remedy this delay, our advisors had to
surmount mountains of red tape to finalize new travel plans. We would now be
spending a night in Newark, flying to Frankfurt, Germany, then connecting to
Delhi, and then flying from there to Kolkata. We stayed overnight at a hotel in
Newark, and we ate a decent breakfast the next morning. It was at this
breakfast that our head advisor gave us a piece of wisdom that shaped our
perception of what was to come.
Reflecting on her prior travel
experiences, she shared a saying she had learned from a Buddhist friend to “Have
no expectations, and have no attachments; if you do this, you cannot be
disappointed.” At the time, I saw this phrase as nothing more than a nice
comfort for the stress of the past two days. Little did I know that I would
come to lean on this philosophy for support during our trip.
Following a flight cancellation in
Germany, a 12-hour wait in the Frankfurt airport, and an eight-hour Air India
flight to Delhi, half our group was left at the luggage carriage to lie in wait
for their luggage - luggage which wouldn't find them for over half our trip.
Though I received my luggage, I did not receive a ticket for the next flight
from Delhi to Kolkata and had to desperately scramble to secure a seat on the
plane. At this point, none of us had taken a shower or slept in a bed since we left
Newark.
After about three days in transit (though
it felt like months), we successfully made it to Kolkata, and it was
magnificent. This foreign world offered beautiful new sights, smells, and
personalities that I had never before experienced. I got to know my teachers
and my partners on a new level, and I met individuals whose kindness I will
carry with me for the rest of my days. The rest of our trip gave me an entirely
new lens through which to view the world. My teammates and I would never be the
same after our experience.
I attribute a majority of this personal
growth to what our advisor told us on that bleak morning in Newark - to have no
expectations and to have no attachments. We easily could have let the
subsequent hassles of our trip define what we would take from it. We could have
allowed the flight complications, the lack of sleep, and the loss of luggage
stain the wonders of our adventure. However, because we learned that day to
expect nothing more than the moment itself, and to have no attachment to our
material belongings, we were able to soak up every last marvel.
Through my travels I realized that in
life, I must keep this mentality if I seek to obtain the most fulfillment from
every experience. If I remain focused on what matters, on what is happening
right before my eyes, then I will continue down my path of personal growth -
without hindrance from false anticipations and material attachments.
Austin Dillon of Belfry, Ky., is a member of the McConnell Scholar Class of 2022. He studies political science and economics at the University of Louisville.