Writings from the Attic

I think this was once part of an application for Teach for America.  I did not get to participate in the program, but pondering on where my mind was then, I believe preparing for that opportunity helped me process my journey.

Programs such as AmericCorps send people directly into the heart of communities and lend more than a helping hand.   I will have the chance to better understand how social issues are manifesting themselves today, how people and organizations are helping, and most importantly, where my skills and desires can contribute the most good.  With my “ear to the road” of what programs are doing, I can bend the ears of people who have been involved for years or those who are just starting like me to gather stories, pitfalls, successes, and insights to carry with me.  

My graduate studies will be directly affected by my experience during the gap year.  I am exploring a number of programs from anthropology to American studies and am open to allowing my life adventures to speak directly to what I finally decide to research.  Because I have lived at the poverty level, both growing up and during my leave of absence, I know that there exists plenty of work for an eager and positive woman to tackle.  At the end of the year, I imagine myself thinking back over the memories like jewels and coming to the roughest ones.  Once I have selected them, I will use the rest of my academic studies to uncover the diamonds from those rough moments and cherish my contributions by passing them on.  The more people who decide to help change even one other life, the more lives there will be to sparkle.

As I come to the end of my academic arc, I look back to the family members and friends back home who are still struggling to get high school diplomas, raising the young children they had young themselves, and I cannot help but take on a responsibility to use what I have gained to help.