Prompt #1: Describe the world you come from —for example, your family, community, or school —and tell us how your world shaped your dreams and aspirations.
Here’s my response to the prompt above. The inspiration was the service-leadership I learned attending my old hometown church. We went to San Diego to volunteer by giving out food. Coming from middle-class Temecula, it was the first time I stepped out of my comfort zone like this. Looking back at it now, there are some ways my privilege definitely oozes: the pretension of serving the “San Diego tenements” and how the poorer than thou become a vehicle for my growth. However, the those moments were the beginning of my life of service —utilizing my privileges and blessings to share to others.
I hope you enjoy these honest reflections and that you enjoy the story of speaking Simple Spanish.
During the Christmas season of my sophomore year, I questioned the very precept of my previous ten years in vigorous academia. Why did I insist on torturing myself with school? I was tired and losing motivation. Listening to the clichés of “financial stability” or “because I said so” sparked neither fear nor inspiration to continue.
Luckily, Winter Break, with its normalcy of community service projects, rescued me. That Christmas Eve, my church and I ventured to the San Diego tenements to distribute staple foods to senior citizens, who struggled to do even the most simple of tasks, like getting groceries. Being able to give bread and walk a senior to her home provided a refuge from my own thoughts and a much-needed break. Each senior received his portion with humble gratitude and unparalleled appreciation. Giving back to the community seemed a more immediate priority than any essay about French Revolution or the derivative of F(x). Simply, the happiness of these seniors made me happy, too. Service seemed more important than student-hood.
However, a couple of truckloads later, I spotted a short, hunched Hispanic woman, in her mid-70s, stooping low to claim a squashed loaf of bread. I cautiously asked her if she needed help. The fragile thing exploded in a flurry of fluent Spanish, coming at a pace by which I could only recognize rapid Si, ayuda, and the word for what I believed to have been pumpkin, I think. I frantically mustered the simple Spanish that I had just learned that very year as a Spanish I Sophomore. Fumbling heavily, I managed to produce, “Yo puedo ayudar.” Then, I managed to take her to her casa and even exchange limited yet meaningful conversation. Finally, she closed the door with Gracias, Adios, a deep chuckle and a wry smirk. Even with just my shallow knowledge of Spanish, I was able to serve beyond what I could have without the knowledge of language.
Back in school that next semester, I realized that I want to learn not for my future security or the faint prospect of inordinate successes, but for knowledge’s vast application. The incident with the abuela was just one example. In that instance, knowledge empowered me to help beyond my initial capacity. I found that information was to be used not just for understanding, but for contributing as well. After all, what use is knowledge if it cannot be applied and used? I began to view all my classes differently, exploring for the practical application of psychology in leadership, and physics in dance. Understanding, not for me, but for the utilization of that knowledge to serve, became the motivation, whether towards the cure for cancer or just simple Spanish.
That subsequent spring, engraved in a marble hall of collegiate academia, I saw what solidified my aspirations: “Established for advancement and development of science and its applications to industry, the arts, agriculture, and commerce.” I knew with certainty that college was where knowledge and the motivated students, like me, could break boundaries of service.
Read how I overcame the writing process in my previous post: Discovering Extraordinary in the Ordinary. If you liked what I wrote and think someone might benefit from reading it, then hit the share button below!
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