When asked, "What made you choose Theology?", I often struggle to give an answer. While the person asking me does not necessarily expect me to have had a road-to-Damascus-like experience, I feel pressured to give an answer that conveys that 18-year-old me had a deep sense of vocation when she chose to study Theology at the University of Edinburgh. And while many 18-year-olds have deep calls to Theology, I certainly was not one of them, not being a spiritually attuned teenager. So I answer: "I don't have a grand reason why I chose it, but I can tell you about why I continued doing it."
My love for Theology and what ultimately led me to the CSTM primarily stemmed from my experience in interreligious dialogue. While I already knew that I wanted to study Christianity's relationship with other religions, my interfaith work began in my second year of undergraduate studies. This is when I met my best friend Sofia, who was working for the Edinburgh Interfaith Association (EIFA). We met for coffee, and she shared what she does at work. I cannot put into words how excited I was about the work she was doing. I immediately told her I wanted to join, and I was lucky enough that they were looking for an intern working on EIFA's collaboration with other interfaith groups and organisations across Europe.
This, then, led to volunteering and working with different faith communities across the city, country, and world and eventually transformed the vision I held of Theology: Using what I learned in lectures and seminars to build bridges between people. I went on to participate in various interreligoius student programmes and conferences, and to organise interfaith events, helping students explore diverse (non-)religious communities. Participating in these efforts, I saw the effect of the Theology I had learned through the relationships and even friendships developing.
These experiences mad me resolute to continue theology at the postgraduate level. So I talked to my undergraduate mentor, who recommended BC to me based on my interests and aspirations. This might be cringe to say, but I had tears in my eyes when I first looked at the CSTM's website because their emphasis on globality, theology rooted in ministry and community deeply resonated with the direction that I wanted to take my theology and interreligious dialogue work. When I visited for ASD (Accepted Student Days), I had many conversations with students, fellow offer-holders, and the staff there that affirmed this feeling and manifested the CSTM as the right place to continue my theological education. Thus far, I have been proven right by the inspiring students and faculty and the courses offered at the CSTM and through the BTI (Boston Theological Interreligious Consortium), which have challenged me to become a better scholar and a better Christian.
So, looking back on my decision now, my journey to the CSTM and to Theology was not one of grand conversion, but rather one of being open to new possibilities, letting the Holy Spirit work through me. I'd like to think 18-year-old me would be suprised but also happy that I walked trusting my instincts and God.