I am beyond super excited! I'm feeling so much more besides excitement, and I don't even know where to start in regards to recording my journey. Some would say the best place to start is with the beginning so that's just what I'll do. I'll start with my reasons. Mon raison d'être.
This trip means so much more to me than getting away for a semester. Don't get me wrong, the prospect of exploring is extremely exciting, but it is more than that. For me this semester is going to be the start of my future (corny I know, but bare with me). I have spent the past two years at Community College completely and utterly lost. I graduated from high school, knew I needed a degree, knew I wanted to go to a nice school but had absolutely no idea of what I wanted to do. I had one certainty in regards to my degree: I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to have a career where my work would mean something. I would make a positive impact on somebodies life. I didn't necessarily want to change the world, I just wanted to do good by it.
That requirement is very broad, and there are a ridiculous amount of careers that benefit the world (maybe not ridiculous because they are good...). And honestly, I'm a superb student. I could kick ass at any of them if I tried hard enough. And I have spent two years, a couple college credits and some good money trying to figure out what path would lead me from A to B.
But I did it.
Hell yeah I did.
Somewhere between Environmental Engineering, Nutrition, Psychology and Political Science I landed on International Studies with a focus in World Development.
What the hell does that even mean?
It means I am studying the world and the human race as a whole, and looking at what is holding us back. There is so much good in the world, so much potential for the human race to succeed. But our system is imperfect. People often do bad in an attempt to find the best path to success. This is real life we can't do experiments to find the best possible solution. All of us are haphazardly going along, and doing what we think is best. What I want to do is study how different people all over the world are getting from A to B, and see what is stopping them from realizing their full potential and development. I have been blessed with a privileged life and I want to understand what the world can do to insure people have the safety, love, education and fulfillment that has been available to me. In my future, I want to work with the Peace Corp, United Nations Development Fund, NGOs such as Amnesty International or even think tanks such as the National Peace Institute to study the problem and become a part of the solution.
That's all nice and dandy, but what does that have to do with Morocco?
Well as it turns out in order to understand this issues, you have to see them first hand. The internet isn't all knowing and even books don't tell the whole truth. If you want to fully understand something (or grok for the readers out there) you have to be a part of it. And that's what I want to do! I want to grok these issues so I can better solve them! Morocco is only the first step in my journey but the first step is usually the biggest leap.
And well, to be honest, I've never really traveled outside of the United States. It's kind of hard to study the world if you've never seen it!
I really got inspired to take this leap recently at my sister's wedding. My family rented this beautiful cabin for the weekend. The day of the wedding when everyone was running around getting things organized I was just sitting there with my Grandpa, admiring the mountain view with him. We talked about so many things, family history, politics (lots of politics) and the future. Talking with him about where our family came from and just life truly inspired me to start going after life with a strong conviction. Amidst all of this I got an email about a scholarship opportunity at my college and it was the purest instance of serendipity. I realized I had spent enough time trying to figure things out. It was time to act and become the change I want to see.
So what better place to start than Morocco? Where cultures from Europe, the Middle-East and sub-Saharan Africa meet up in an African melting pot. Where I can continue my studies while getting engaged hands on in service opportunities and clubs.
I honestly can not wait for this. It is an opportunity to study in a beautiful country while working towards a future I have been dreaming of.
No comments:
Post a Comment