Berkley Center

“Hi, how are you,” I say, more of a statement than a question. I hand my jacket to the man working the coat check at the British Library and start to walk away.

“I try always to be joyful, and at least a little bit thankful every day.” I stop, stunned. “And how are you?” he asks.

“…Good?”

I had heard the stereotype that America and the United Kingdom were on the opposite sides of the “friendliness-to-strangers” coin: In America, people are very friendly to strangers but are hesitant to pursue any relationship deeper than that. In the United Kingdom, people are not very friendly to strangers but are very loyal friends. However, my automatic, “Hi, how are you” has been responded to and returned to me in earnest so many times that I have to remind myself to stop asking people how they are, unless I want to be trapped in a five minute conversation when I’m just trying to catch a bus. In America, and especially at Georgetown, we are sometimes so focused on our own lives that when we ask someone how they are, we don’t care about the answer. But in London, the largest and busiest city in the world, when you ask a complete stranger how they are, they will stop and tell you. And then they will, very sincerely, ask you how you are doing.

This genuine inquiry into one’s well-being is just one expression I have found of the cura personalis in everyday life in England. The Jesuit concept of caring for the whole person can be found in the United Kingdom from the smallest of actions, like genuinely asking someone how his or her day is going, to the largest of institutions, such as the National Health Service, which provides mostly free healthcare for every U.K. resident. During my orientation, each member of the King’s College staff that spoke offered to speak to any of us about any of our issues and informed us that if we leave London without having a wonderful study abroad experience, “They didn’t do their job right.” It’s a subtle but significant contrast to the can-do, self-made man attitude that is so valued in American society.

In the United Kingdom, there seems to be a greater emphasis for caring for the individual and his or her own needs. Certainly, U.K. society and politics are not without their faults; however, they frequently set a good example of how to implement cura personalis into our daily lives and society. Experiencing this human interaction in my daily life has caused me to take a step back and reflect on American institutions, politics, and society and to question how we can change them for the better to provide the most help to the largest number of people. This job is a massive undertaking, but I think I have the perfect place to start. All it takes is just three words: How are you?