Teresa, who lives in Lisbon, recently finished her degree in Business Management. In the video above (which is part of a series made for the 75th anniversary of the beginning of Opus Dei's apostolic activities in Portugal) she talks about the conversion she underwent in her life.
What am I doing here?
Although things were going well in her life, she found herself rushing from one thing to another during the day. But amid all this hustle and bustle the question about the meaning of her life needed to be faced: What is expected of me in this life? Why am I here? What am I supposed to leave behind as my accomplishment?
At first, her expectations of what she could accomplish in life were, she said, "super-unrealistic." But she came to realize that she would never do extraordinary things like Malala, the Pakistani activist, or win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Rome: what can unite such different people?
In the midst of this questioning she took part in UNIV, an international congress that brings university students together from all over the world during Holy Week in Rome. “It was a transforming experience for me because it brings together a great number of people from many different cultures. So much diversity made me think: “What is it that can unite people who are so different?” And she found the answer in the Eternal City. “It must be a much greater reality than what I’ve found so far in my life.”
Thus a time of deep interior conversion began in her life. “Everything we do in life, no matter how small, we can do well, giving meaning to it.”
Teresa came to realize that she is in this world to transform it and to help God make it a place that reflects the Gospel better.
“Don’t jump”: Signs on the Bridges in Seoul
Later, in a university exchange program, she spent some months in Seoul in South Korea. “It was quite an individualistic and materialistic society, which led to the interior emptiness experienced by so many people. When I went out walking at night I could see the signs on the railings of the pedestrian bridges: Don’t jump; Something good will happen; There is someone who loves you. And that really struck me.”
Finally, she realized that her mission in life would be to try to help through her friendship so many people who seemed to be lost. As she said: “To give meaning to the lives of others, to show them how incredible their own daily life can be.”