Megan is currently enrolled in the M.A. in Responsible Management and Sustainable Economic Development. Before coming to UPEACE, she double majored in mathematics and economics.
Megan doesn’t like to be in the spotlight too often, but we decided to put her on the spot – with her consent, of course - and got her to share her metaphorical understanding of walking each other home…
M: I think I am a little bit fearful of all the greed in the world. I believe many problems we have go back to the issue of living in a scarcity mindset: wanting more and more when you don’t need it. The most powerful want more and more, and they influence the world in ways they don’t even realize… that makes me a little bit scared.
But if I could change one thing, I would change the way people see themselves. If people loved, discovered and took care of themselves in different ways, in better ways, the world would be very different. If they knew who they were and loved themselves for everything they are, they would make other decisions – keeping in mind that getting there is harder for some than for others. If you try to accept the world and accept yourself as you are, it becomes more of a mindset of gratitude, a mindset that could change the world.
There is this quote by Ram Dass, "we all are just walking each other home." I really relate to it because more people who know themselves and love themselves will impact the world. I have already seen how people who love themselves have affected me. Specifically here, many UPEACE students value the importance of self-love, which is another reason why it's such a special place to be.
I came to UPEACE because I didn’t feel expressed in the life I was living before, the people I was with, the surroundings I was in. I needed a change. I wanted to study something that I loved. So I said to the universe, “I will apply, and if I get in, I will go,” and I got in! So I am here, studying Responsible Management and Sustainable Economic Development. I chose this program because I think the world revolves around money a lot of the time. I don’t think you can change the world without changing people's scarcity mindset, how people think about money, wealth, and materials. So I guess it maybe says that I am a bit realistic in the way the world works and hopeful that I can change the system, that WE can change the system.
Written by: Patric Hansen
Photo by: Sofía Blanco