Our #MyMagisMessage for the week comes from Caroline Bourjaily, a sophomore Sociology & Criminology major with Spanish and PJHR minors from Chicago, Il!
At which service sites / community partners have you served or been a student liaison?
I have served with Boys Hope Girls Hope and the JCU Lobo Labs.
If you had to state your life mission off the top of your head, in one sentence, what would it be?
My life mission is to advocate for all humans equally by using my God-given gifts of knowledge, passion, and creativity.
For the greater glory of God, I am alive. Living the Magis looks different for everyone, and for me, that is simply being alive. With our world surrounded with uncertainty and divide, I think the most anyone can do right now is cherish that they are breathing without worrying about their next breath. We must hold on to the consistency in our lives right now since there is so much unknown. Through CSSA, I have found consistency through my weekly service this semester. Conducting the Lobo Labs virtually has been a challenge without a doubt. But as the weeks have gone by, I've realized that no matter how obscure it may seem to be doing children's fitness videos to my computer screen, it gives me a sense of normalcy. Seeing their faces and reactions across my screen every week is what reminds me that this is all worth it. I have learned that we put so much time and effort into things in our lives that result in pleasure. The difference between all of those pleasures is whether or not you can find meaning in them. Right now, meaningful pleasure for me comes through the form of grade school kids dancing to Katy Perry on Tuesday afternoons. Meaningful pleasure is when my mom leaves me Post-It notes on my computer so I see them when I wake up for class in the morning. Meaningful pleasure is the ability to exercise my right to vote for the first time this year. Meaningful pleasure is being alive.
During this time, I am living for the greater glory of God by finding the understanding in all of this unknown. I reflect on the fact that God would not have put me through all of my trials and tribulations if He truly didn't want me here. Sometimes it may seem like there is no meaning to certain things in life, but I remember that God created me for a meaning that I might not know yet either. So, amongst the ever-changing rate of our world, I encourage you to find meaning in your consistencies. For some, that may be the same morning coffee or daily exercise bringing you energy to get through your day. But for me, and I'm sure many others, my consistency is just being alive. And although I don't know what the future holds for our world, I can say that I am certain about one thing: For the greater glory of God, I am alive.