Eighth-Grade School Trip

In my early years, I hadn't given much thought to the depth of this city, only knowing bits and pieces of the puzzle that I was trying to put together in my head. However, as the years went by, I grew accustomed to the city, its people, and its ways. This city influenced and shaped my persona into the individual I am today. This city taught me a great deal of what

The lake glistened before me as my mom and I pulled into Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp just outside Twin Lakes Michigan. I had been accepted into the International Youth Symphony Orchestra program where after spending a week at the camp the entire orchestra would be heading off on a six week European Tour to share our musical talents and American culture with another part of the world. I knew traveling to a different continent would give me further insight as to who I was a person, but did not imagine the people I would meet would impact me as much as they did.

The following week, we spent most of our time in the poorest parts of the city. There we went door-to-door sharing the love of God and had Vacation Bible Schools for the kids. This is when I realized how blessed I truly was. For the first time, I got to see the privations and penury environment that the citizens of Third World countries had to endure. The unpaved streets were covered in trash. Many houses, made of tin sheets, had collapsed on themselves. The people had to share wells, where they drew their parasitic water. Men, women, and children sat on the sides of the roads begging for money, because they were sick, hungry, and needed money for food and proper medication. The site of these atrocious states of living broke my heart, and showed me how blessed I really was for not having to face these problems.

In the summer of 2017, I had visited Wilkes-Barre, Arcadia University, Temple University. Wilkes-Barre and Temple had the urban atmosphere that I craved for college. Living in York, where there is farm down the street from my house, I needed to experience fast pace, never sleeping aspect of the city. With this in mind, it disappointed me how much neither Temple nor Wilkes awed me. I could see myself going there, but I could also see myself not. Another impediment was that it is only one hour away from my parents.

I am writing to you today to tell you about an exciting opportunity I have through my school, Liberty Christian. My senior class will be going on a mission trip to COSTA RICA from Saturday, May 6, 2017 to Friday, May 12th. During this time, we will be working with the mission agency SCORE International in order to serve God by serving the Costa Rican people. We will have opportunities to serve and minister to the people we meet through various service opportunities, such as: children’s ministry, preaching, drama, and humanitarian aid distribution.

Even though I studied harder than I ever had before, I still did not reach the grade I thought I deserved. He told me it was because the student who shared a desk with me earned a C and it was partially my fault. This lesson taught me that life is not just about reaching personal success but helping others reach theirs too. My schools CFX’s (Companion’s of Francis Xavier) were another way I have lived out service, spirit, and intellect. During summer vacations after my sophomore and junior year, I would spend hours in the sun hammering nails or digging the foundation where a new home would be built. At the end of every grueling day, we would discuss the reasons why this certain group of people were impoverished and the systematic ways that we could fix it. These trips helped me grow as a person and realize my place in today’s society. It also made me look at larger issues in our world such as homelessness and the border issues - I worked in solidarity building homes with people that were impacted by these matters. One of my greatest moments of service and spirit came on my senior year trip. It was Easter Mass and my group was in the

Ever since I was a little girl, New York City always seemed like a place that was magical. My family’s TV on Thanksgiving was always broadcasting the enormous balloons, extravagant floats, and millions of people lining the streets of the city for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. Freshman year, excited squeals and giggles erupted from my brother and I after our parents told us that we would be visiting New York City for the first time to witness the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. After several months of waiting and lots of turbulence, our plane hit the landing with a thunk at Laguardia airport and reality set in: we were in the city. Walking out of the airport was absolutely surreal. The sights, sounds, and smells surrounded my family and

After landing in Mexico and meeting up with the people I would be working with during a three-day mission trip, we were crammed into a bus and spent the next two hours getting to know each other. We were there to build homes for a multitude of families in the town of Xochimilco, Mexico. When we arrived late in the afternoon, we were led to an empty school where we would spend our nights. Sleeping on the floor next to school lockers with bugs buzzing in my ears in a country I did not know well was an interesting experience to say the least—but that was just the beginning. At dawn, the real work began and so did a change in my thinking that had a dramatic effect on my perspectives about life.

We were on our way to San Antonio, Texas a white minivan full of kids on their soccer uniforms ready to play on the hot summer of 2008. They had invited us to participate on a youth national tournament with soccer teams from all over the United States. At that time I was just 11 years old and didn’t knew that much about traveling, and most important without my parents. The minivan was full of kids with the enthusiasm of traveling to a new city with big buildings, famous places to visit and many attractions, where none of us had traveled before.

In tenth grade I was enrolled in conformation class at my parish church. This was the first time I had really started getting involved with my Church parish. The big event everyone was talking about for the upcoming summer was the mission trip to Jamaica. My first thoughts about this trip were to stay away from it. I found myself not wanting to get involved with a huge event like this. Leaving the United States is something that I have never done before. A whole week away from home is something that scared me at the time. I kept it in the back of my head throughout the year and the time came to make my decision. The decision I made would, without me realizing it, change my life forever. My trip to Jamaica would teach me just how blessed I am.

As I walked out of the airport into new territory, I could immediately feel the change in atmosphere. The air once chilled from morning dew, had turned into radiating heat from the cement and metal structures in the evening sun. As I looked out in my jeans and tee-shirt, I felt out of place. I was surrounded by the 8.55 million people who populate New York City. Each person with their own style and demeanour. As I walked down streets in search of the correct subway stop with my church group, everyone could tell that we were tourists. We were lugging our impossibly heavy suitcases through the streets, down the unforgiving stairs, and onto the crowded subway. After walking up and down what felt like hundreds of steps and changed subway trains

It might be difficult to persuade you that my affinity for New York University grew out of a teenage love affair, especially one that wasn’t even my own and furthermore, one that began ten years before I was even born, but that’s exactly how fate planted this seed as the relationship of young Tywanna and Dwayne Williams blossomed from their frequent dates at the Waverly Place diner; commencing my path to the school. Tywanna and Dwayne eventually fell in love, got married, had three children and raised a family whose morals and values were built upon individuality, passion, and diligence. Their goal was always to provide us with opportunities and expose us to as much as we could, even if it meant a short ride over the Williamsburg bridge to

When I was a child, I’d heard of New York City and it’s splendor, but I’d never seen a picture of the city itself, or heard anyone describe it in full detail. My nonchalant attitude took a complete one-eighty when the Christmas film Elf was released. In the film, the city is displayed from the sidewalk to the top of the Empire State in a short two minutes. Two minutes was all it took for six year old me to become completely enamored. I planned out my entire life living in a high rise apartment in Times Square, going out every day to explore the city until I knew every corner and building by name. At the time of the band trip, however, New York had become much

Over the years, I have had the great pleasure of taking part in several things that have turned out to be incredible learning experiences. One of the things that I have begun to do in recent years is going on a mission trip with the youth group at my church every year. Starting in the summer of 2013, we have taken about a week out of our summer each year to assist in the clean-up of natural disasters for less fortunate families. Surprisingly, these unpleasant, hot, humid, and smelly days have been some of the most memorable experiences that I have ever taken part in and have taught me an important social lesson. I learned, and relearn every summer, the importance of giving to those who are less fortunate than myself in any way that I am able to.

The sounds of the city penetrated the walls of the cab as we drove through the streets of Manhattan. I could hardly wait to partake in the action that was happening outside. The buildings themselves were an amazing site to behold. The buildings took on personalities of their own. Each building was bigger and more graceful than the next. When lights were added to the mix it was a dazzling combination. The city itself felt like a great big hug, and I felt overwhelmed by its power. The city allowed me to become part of it just like many others many years ago who immigrated to this awesome city. As I was looking out of the cab I finally got to see in person the sight of all sights; Times Square. The main juncture of