I made it through another week! That’s definitely a positive. After getting out of class, I started the daunting task of checking my emails. Today, there were luckily only 24 new ones. However, I only got through about half of them. One email was from Billiee Pendleton-Parker, who works in the office that is in charge of my scholarship program. Billiee’s emails are usually pretty impactful in nature. This particular one in question was about an essay contest that is being held at Tech. It is called the This I Believe contest, and is part of a national project that collects essays about people’s different beliefs. Since my creative writing could definitely use a work-out, I decided to write a little something. I wasn’t planning on submitting it, but it developed pretty quickly, and since it now meets contest standards, I guess I might as well. Today’s positive thing is that I had the opportunity to examine my beliefs and what I stand for, which is something that we certainly all need to assess from time to time. And because I am rapidly developing writer’s block after working on this so long, I will devote the rest of this blog to my prospective essay:
I believe in the power of the human connection. It is truly astounding to consider the impact that a smile or a touch can have on others. Nursing home residents have come alive again, laid off workers’ downtrodden spirits have been lifted, and the “dregs of society” have found a purpose, all because someone took the time to sit down and talk with them for a few minutes. Think of the thousands of times throughout the day that you interact with people. Have you ever thought of the power that your words hold over them? Have you ever considered how your body language might change the attitudes of those around you? I challenge you to observe how people act around you next time you are having a bad day, or an exceptionally good one. I guarantee that you will notice a difference in the two situations. This is the manner in which the human interaction works: every incident impacts all parties involved, to some extent. It is impossible to make a decision that would truly only affect you as an individual. Such is the level at which we are all intertwined.
Two of the best weeks of my own life were spent on mission trips, where my friends and I experienced unbridled happiness in the face of true poverty. In reaching out to others to provide basic physical support, I myself was transformed spiritually. Over the course of the trip, we spent a lot of time visiting those whose families had abandoned them. Somewhere between the infirmary and the orphanage, I experienced unconditional love among strangers that I had never before seen back home in the first world. I spent one afternoon holding a girl my own age, who couldn’t speak, like a small child on my hip. My arms throbbed, but she would not release me from her clutch. I was slightly relieved that I didn’t have to try and talk to the other children, but I also felt a little disappointed that I could not do something more “meaningful” during our time there. However, one year later, when we returned to the same orphanage, I felt the force of an impact the second I walked through the door, and then legs wrapping around me and scaling me. I turned to see the brightest smile I have ever witnessed, and then stood in shock. The same girl, who had a mental capacity about equal to that of a toddler, was the only person in Jamaica to remember me a year later. I knew that she had changed my life a year ago, but I was astounded to see how I had affected hers. Since that day, I firmly believe that we are all here to allow others to breathe easier. I have been put here as part of a higher purpose. I have been given the power of love and laughter. I believe in sharing that with the world. I believe in the power of the human connection.
If you are interested in learning more about this project, you can visit its website: http://thisibelieve.org/.
No comments:
Post a Comment