Finding my Place

by Summer Wang, Open Circle student

To me, Open Circle is a safe and supportive space accompanying my spiritual growth journey. It is so valuable and rare to find a community that shares the same core value with myself: to live authentically and give whole-heartedly.

Before I even came to Canada in my first year, I discovered Open Circle online and knew that this would be the community that I would find my place in it. As a first-year international student navigating both university life and inner growth, Becoming Yourself Series consistently guided and supported me. It taught me the small habits in daily living such as eating mindfully and being present in daily chores. These small practices could add up and slowly change my way of living. 

One small but powerful habit I developed from Open Circle was journaling. I remember seeing the small brown journal booklets Marybeth and Jeff put together for the first time, I didn’t know that it would be my good company for the rest of my undergraduate years. In my culture, we did not learn to journal as we grew up. So the experience seemed new and exciting for me. As of right now, I learned that healing does not only occur when I sit still and meditate, but could also happen when I put the flow of thoughts onto the paper.

In the Open Circle community, we sincerely respect, empathize and cherish each and every being. It has became one of the first families that a lot of international students like me find at McMaster. Beyond this, it always feels safe and welcoming to talk about the things that really matter to me in this space, to talk about growing inward and loving unconditionally.

I joined the reflection support team this school year, with the wish of being there and creating a safe space for others’ growth. It feels heart-warming to be able to contribute back to this community, and continue to spread its intentions and love along with a group of companions.