This is an excerpt from my Indicorps Year in Review document from August 2006. I wanted to share this as an example of what Sonal's leadership in creating Indicorps has facilitated. She has consistently encouraged us to learn through experience, ask questions and strive to gain a deeper understanding of issues so that we come to our own conclusions. She has been a mentor and great example for me and other young women in our Indian American community.
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When you find yourself in challenging, limit-pushing, reflection inspiring, and action-warranting situations, the only thing that can happen as a result is evolution. I began my work in the village as a very goal-oriented, plan-focused, initiator of change, and as I absorbed the experiences of each day, I became a more adaptable, introspective, conscious participant in something much bigger than myself and my project. In attempting to create some small change, I became changed myself and as a result am better equipped to understand the perspectives of local communities and more competent to effect holistic change. The Indicorps fellowship allowed me to begin to recognize my own inadequacies in fully understanding India's history, society and development issues, but also greatly empowered me in seeing the value of the seemingly small, meaningful ways in which each of us can act within ourselves and within our communities to propagate some much needed positive change in the world.

I have learned so many personal, spiritual and professional lessons through this Indicorps fellowship. I came to see the importance of the community's investment in the success of any development project if it is meant to be sustained. Without the investment of the community, impact and success will be limited. The vast system of Anganwadi Centers which have been established by the government all over the country have been largely ineffective as the communities played no role in its development. I saw Anganwadi Centers in several states throughout the course of the year and all appeared to be underutilized.

Another key lesson I have come to learn is that there are no black and white answers. Most problems and issues are shades of gray and each of us is colored by our own experiences and ways of processing these. So, in order to learn and embrace differences amongst us, it's important that we expose ourselves to different perspectives and understand another's way of seeing the world.

Some of my most valuable lessons this year were spiritual in nature. I realized that the abandonment of fear and the ability to embrace uncertainty in life is extremely freeing and empowers us to really do the things we care about. I also attempted to work each day and give my best without being bound to the result. I realized that a healthy detachment from the result would keep me in a much healthier state of mind to continue working. Feeling the scorching summer heat, carrying water in matkas to my building, waking up to the peacocks crowing, allowed me to experience a beautiful connectivity with the earth. I came to see how actions of one person can reverberate around the world and experience how the policies of a single nation can shape the global landscape. I came to this project with an interest in maternal and child health and left understanding the links between politics, trade, governance and agriculture to these issues of health. This year in India has compelled me to critically examine my own traditions, motivations and actions and challenged me to live a life of principled action.
I am ever grateful for the opportunity to have had this experience and learned such transformative lessons at this early point in my life.