The author reflects on a classroom experience where students struggled to identify their skills and talents. This silence prompted discussions about societal expectations and humility. The piece re-imagines the practice of the virtue of humility in relation to the barriers young women especially face in recognizing their giftedness due to cultural pressures. It ultimately emphasizes the importance of acknowledging both strengths and limitations in personal growth.
One day about halfway through the semester with a class of thoughtful, generous, and talkative juniors, we were turning our attention to the role of religious practices. I wanted to prime them to think about the way “practices” take “practice,” so I asked what I thought was a fairly innocuous question to generate discussion: What is something that you are good at, and how did you get good at it? I then circulated throughout the room, eager to eavesdrop on the small group conversations of these engaged and engaging young adults. Instead, I heard only a “profound and holy silence.” Anna, a brilliant and conscientious psychology major with a great sense of humor and a small group of deeply devoted friends, sat in silence with Jillian, a compassionate and skilled nursing student with a side job as the group fitness instructor whose class everyone rushes to sign up for. Finally, Anna stammered, “Well, I guess I used to be good at dancing, but I don’t have time for that anymore.”
Continue reading “Re-visioning Humility as a Virtue for Vocation”
