We are used to think of ourselves as individual entities put in a larger pot called society. Each with our own personality, passions, hobbies, strength and weaknesses, language and typical food. Imagine it being like a Caesar Salad bowl, full of very different tastes that joined together make up a harmonious dish, or like a Hawaiian Pizza (but I am Italian and I am not allowed to say this heresy publicly).
Now, I want you to think about that time you thought that, as weird as it may sound, pineapple does not go that bad with ham and cheese. Joining the EMTM is that chance that will make you realize this.
Starting for example with the time you have to choose your fellow teammates for an assignment and you start to look around the class to see who will be the perfect fit for you. You discard the one with a Business and Finance background because you can only do 2+2=4 so how are we supposed to understand each other; then you discard the linguist, because she will be too punctilious about syntax and interpretation of word; what is a gastronome doing here? I will for sure talk her into how pineapple should be banned on pizza, maybe that’s why. Then you are left with basically just yourself because you tend to trust your knowledge, your ideas, your way of doing things and there is no way that you will pass your assignment because you have to be part of a team.
Ok, let’s trust people, they are not that bad as they are displayed, right? So you have your group and you start brainstorming about possible ideas and perspectives and you start realizing that what the other said is not that wrong and it actually fits really well. “I never thought about it”, you say. “I never pictured it in this context”, you continue. “See how it links perfectly with our argument” you end. Sounds strange how authenticity can benefit economics or politics can affect heritage protection, right?
EMTM is that experience that will make you understand that there is no black or white, but there are thousands of shapes in between that sometimes we are not able to see alone because we are too busy to prove our opinions. This will help you in everyday life in your relationships with the “other”, being it a friend, a stranger or a relative. You will be able to open a dialogue and change your way of thinking about many things, even about pineapple on pizza (which I did if you want to know how it ended). You will show them your insecurities, fears and limits and they will listen to you and inspire you to be the best version of yourself that you never thought existed. You will learn about many cultures different from yours and you will be astonished how things are done and thought differently in other parts of the world, you will hear powerful stories and you will feel like you can do anything too.
We tend to be afraid of this “other” because we rely only on our mental constructs, but I hope you will be brave enough to challenge them and build new ones, to collaborate with others instead of pushing them away for our own achievements, to trust every process in life. EMTM is this, a glorification of diversity!
Written by Federica Impedovo, Student of EMTM Generation 2018-2020.