Thankful & Hopeful

This is our second post in a series of March for Life Reflections from students across Illinois.Today’s reflection comes from Jean-Baptiste, an international student studying at Northwestern University who traveled to Washington, D.C. with SFLI. Here’s his story:My name is Jean-Baptiste (Jay-Bee) and I am a French exchange student at Northwestern University. I come from a political science school, Sciences Po., in Paris. Thanks to a personal invitation from my friend, Gabby, I joined Northwestern Students for Life in September and was immediately excited to have the opportunity to attend the March for Life in D.C. This trip provided a great double opportunity: I would get to see the United States Capitol, but above all, I’d discover more about the American pro-life movement.  For a long time, I’ve believed that the role of society is to protect its most fragile members. But in France and especially in my school, being pro-life is seen as being anti-women. In short, I avoided expressing my opinions about it. I have been pleased to witness SFLI’s joy and positive attitude!What I learned from SFLI's Dare You to Move Summit in (almost) D.C. is that our goal is to build a Culture of Life. Instead of denouncing abortion and putting guilt on women, SFLI works to promote solutions and support for women. The image I recall from the trip is seeing this network of students ready to respond to needs, provide information, and offer support within their campuses!I am thankful and hopeful to see this positive attitude and the concrete structuring of the pro-life movement through SFLI. Obviously, I will continue to be cautious in expressing my opinions in France but this positive, building attitude has given me confidence. I want to take part in offering a positive attitude, rather than participating in the phenomenon of indifference. I will now continue this year at Northwestern being involved in NSFL. In France there are many potential resources: housing, financial aid, academic support, and peer support. But the information may not always be available enough. But I will return to France with the will to support these concrete resources for pregnant mothers.It is an honor to work with Jay-Bee in building an international culture of life and we're looking forward to how he'll make an impact back home in France!