REPORT ON: “ Pilgrimages in Santiago”

          Different things motivate everyone. Everyday, whether we realize it or not, we are subconsciously and consciously making decisions motivated by our own values and beliefs. In the video “ Pilgrimages in Santiago” we learn that pilgrims are highly motivated individuals that value their religion over most of everything. I learned from the video that their whole lives pretty much revolved around making pilgrimages and building churches. It was interesting to see the extents these pilgrims would go to in order to build a magnificent church, some of them baffled me due to the style of architecture as well as the locations in which they where built (such as the church San Michael Lapue, built on the top of a cliff).

           Besides the impressive churches, the pilgrims also felt motivated to travel long distances for their religion, this showed how devoted they where, it proved that-with faith and God on your side- you can do things that may seem physically impossible, as well as showed others how they faced their relationships with God.

            The idea of a pilgrimage is very intriguing to me- I think that people that push themselves to do things that are defying their own boundaries, whether that be through a pilgrimage, or studying abroad, are doing something that will make them realize what it is that motivates them, ultimately making them a better defined person. I believe that first, it is important to go into a pilgrimage with a open mind- one must be able have expectations that are realistic but at the same time - be open to finding things out about themselves that might not be what they expected. I believe also that in order to go on a successful pilgrimage, one have a positive outlook on the end result- I would not go on a pilgrimage if I could not imagine myself finishing it. I would think that also a pilgrimage would be an important journey to do without relying so much on others. I am not sure if these pilgrimages where done in large groups- or by themselves- but I think that this journey would have to be something that requires a certain amount of independence from others, so that you can make your own mistakes and learn from them.

            I would definitely do a pilgrimage- although I might be motivated to do it for different reasons - I think in a way I am even doing it here by studying abroad. I think that scaring yourself to do things that you might not have done before is one of the best ways to grow, and will make you a much more confident, motived, hard working individual. For example- I signed up to run the Firenze Marathon while here. I think this is somewhat similar to pilgrimage because, while I am not doing it to prove my religion, I am doing it to help prove to myself what I can do. I think my spirituality does also play a role in the fact that I am taking on this challenge as well. People that have faith in a higher power might feel more motivated do things that seem impossible because they know that there is something much more powerful then anything on this earth.

-Claire Shumaker