2022 Literae Humaniores Hello! I’m Margaret, a Classics finalist. Balliol is a marvellous place to be a classicist, and my time here has been a great privilege. I’ve headed Balliol’s undergraduate Classics society and sung reconstructed ancient Greek music in student dramatic productions. And I assist with the worship and life of the Chapel, where I first began to discern a vocation to ordained ministry. The heart of my project will be the study of day-to-day religious practice and behaviour in East Asia. I have a special interest in Christian communities: I am hoping to better understand what shape the Christian life takes in predominantly non-Christian cultures. But Pathfinders is also a precious opportunity to observe other traditions of worship first-hand (precious especially for a classicist, used to puzzling over long-dead people and disintegrating objects), and I plan to visit temples and monasteries and walk some of Japan’s ancient pilgrimage routes. As an international student – I hail from Richmond, Virginia – I’ve been keenly grateful for the sturdy friendliness and generosity of the wider college community, and I am very much looking forward to meeting Old Members this summer.