Autonomy is something that takes time to achieve. Often times, people find themselves gaining autonomy from certain instances in their lives that have pushed them out of their comfort zones. Paul’s journey in the novel, Early Autumn, by Robert B Parker, parallels to my own. Paul becomes more autonomous by experiencing new things as an introvert. He realized how autonomous he should be which is important, for he eventually takes into consideration how he should behave. Knowing where someone’s level of autonomy should stand is often figured out by experiencing new things and the influences of others Autonomy is never gained or increased by someone alone, but with the help of others around them. As a high schooler's point of view, the level of autonomy for a 15 year old should be a 7. Teenagers do not have full potential to live completely alone without the help of others, …show more content…
Summer of 2015, my father made the decision for me to go to a mission trip to one of the most undeveloped cities in Central America, Managua, Nicaragua, without my input. This idea gradually started to grow on me as weeks of endless hours of training and prepping went by. On July 29th, the plane finally landed, and our crew of 15 teenagers went straight to work. We stayed in an air conditioned home with running water, flushing toilets, wifi, floors, windows, and a roof. To most people, this may seem like no big deal. To many, this is luxury. We spent 10 days building playgrounds for the kids, holding classes for students, providing food and water for families, and so much more. The kids and teens living here didn’t have the basic units of life, but were living each day of their lives with genuine smiles and positive attitudes. This experience changed my way of living by becoming more mature, knowledgeable, much more aware of my surroundings and realizing how truly blessed my family
When my family and I got to the houses where the families were living I noticed that everyone was overjoyed to see us. This put a smile on my face, I didn't understand how people with so little could be so happy. As we gave them our clothes and candy they almost started crying with joy and thankfulness. Kids started sharing their candy with other kids and some didn't even keep any for themselves. People with absolutely nothing were sharing what they had for the happiness of others. This made me realize how lucky I was to have the life I have and to never take anything for granted. I learned from these kids to always give to others and treat others how you'd like to be treated. This trip to Mexico helped me realize that one small act of kindness could make someone's day, year, or even
Last summer, I flew to Nicaragua for ten days with a team of sixteen girls and boys. I knew a couple people who have gone to mission and service trips like this and they said it was a really good experience, so I thought about and eventually made the decision to go. It was both one of the most terrifying and amazing experiences I have ever had. When we landed and arrived in Managua, I saw people living in extreme poverty left and right. People lived in houses with large rusty metal sheets for walls and roofs. Kids played outside
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.
In the past two years I have gone on my school's service trip to the Dominican Republic over Thanksgiving week. This trip has changed my life in many ways, but one is more prominent in my everyday life. When I was down there I was able to attend to hundreds of people's medical needs, I was able to help give out food, clothes, shoes and medical supplies; all of this we take for granted. For me the grandest takeaway from this trip, both years, is the feeling of giving people goods and services and giving them something to be thankful for on a week where most Americans take most of what they have for granted.
In January of 2015, I experienced a mission trip in Guatemala. Although the trip taught me a lot about both myself, and the people and culture of Guatemala, one of the more prominent realizations I had was that the Guatemalan children had so little resources to get a quality education in life, yet they were still eager to learn. For example, each child was required to wear a pair of black dress shoes to school. Since many could not afford to pay for these shoes, they each walked to the missionary compound, no matter how far, to get a free pair of shoes that were offered. Additionally, many of the kids were more inclined to attend a short church lesson after eating dinner than play with their friends. After experiencing this dramatic change
The country was foreign, a first for me. Dilapidation and ruin scattered the horizon as far as one could see. Guatemala is a place where poverty has a strong grasp on its people. We traveled tirelessly for hours to reach the poorest of the poor. Upon arrival old, young, and natives of all shapes and sizes formed receiving lines, eager to welcome us with gifts of smiles and gratitude. It was an experience that forever changed me. This was the first time I had stepped outside the boundaries of the American culture into a world where nothing is taken for granted. Each day spent on my mission trip brought a fresh awareness of gratefulness. Any pre-trip reluctance quickly became a vague memory as my emotions welled within bring a fresh change to
In the summer of 2014 I, along with 30 friends from St. George Church, took part in a week long mission trip to the beautiful country of Haiti. While there, we did a lot of service work, including planting trees and painting a school. But way beyond all that, we got the incredible opportunity to care for and play with hundreds of unbelievably lovable and, despite their unfortunate circumstances, immeasurably happy children, most of whom were abandoned, orphaned, or severely ill with HIV/AIDS. Their smiles and radiating happiness are among the brightest I've ever seen and they inspired our entire group to change the way we perceive the world. Therefore, getting the chance to see those beautiful kids again would make me and them, too, unimaginably happy.
As a pre-service teacher and UN-DPI Youth Representative, I have learned that I am lucky and blessed to be a U.S. Citizen. Why? Think about it: I am currently pursuing a higher education in one of the greatest countries in the world. In other words, I am getting the opportunity to achieve my American Dream. In fact, many citizens from around the world, specifically in third world countries, face difficult challenges every day, especially for survival. In addition, recently, after learning more about the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and its 2030 targets, I feel that now is the right time for me to participate in a service-learning trip in Nicaragua. I feel that in order for me to grow more as a person; I must be exposed to a
Autonomy is derived from the idea that men can govern themselves according to their own values or desires. Immanuel Kant defined a person to be autonomous if the choices and actions of a person are not affected by external or inessential factors. People who allow themselves to be affected by outside factors such as peer pressure, religious authority, or their own desires, lack autonomy. Kant also believed if one was acting with autonomy, then that person should recognize the intrinsic value of all rational beings because there is no difference between their rationality and that of others. In the episode, Both Sides Now, the viewer gets to see how two main characters struggle with their autonomy and the effects of their actions on the people around them.
My thoughts and aspirations towards my future not only involve my success, but the success of the world around me as result of my education. I strive to become a person who utilizes his knowledge to help others succeed. After recently completing my first mission trip to Haiti this past summer I realized that this is what I aspire to do with my life. I went to a place of poverty and sickness, and envisioned solutions that would solve some of the issues that are plaguing Haiti. This defining moment happened while I was sitting in a temporary shelter, I realized how desperate the living conditions were for these people, and at that moment I was moved to help, but how? I was a seventeen year old boy with minimal experience and lack of funding
At the end of my junior year, I took a brave leap and went to Ecuador with a program called Global Student Embassy for a reforestation project. Before leaving, I got cold feet, and started doubting the trip. This trip was massively out of my comfort zone, for I hated heat, humidity, mosquitoes, and gardening. However, this trip changed my life. I met people who would change my life forever. Our trip leader, David, is the most inspirational man I have ever met. He is filled with joy, comfort, and laughs. He lives a nomadic lifestyle, and travels all the time, never settling down in one place. He showed me beauty in things I would have never found beautiful. His philosophy in life is to share love. David carries his own baggage that has given him his deepest and darkest insecurities, but he does not let that get in the way of
Sophomore year, I applied to become a buildOn trek volunteer to build a school in an impoverished, Nicaraguan village to combat penury, low expectations and minimize illiteracy. I arrived in the village of Chachagua, always keeping in mind my father’s condition. A regular day consisted of intense labor, a cultural
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 spring of 2016, my youth group and I began planning a trip to a neighboring city. This wasn’t just any trip however, we were going on a mission. Each of us there were bound and determined to
As defined by Merriam Webster Dictoionary, autonomy is the quality or state of being self-governing; self-directing freedom and especially moral independence. In recommending autonomy to learners, we are making the assumption that taking an active, independent attitude to learning and independently undertaking a learning task, is beneficial to learning; that somehow, personal involvement in decision making leads to more effective learning. This is not a universal view. Some teachers and researchers either articulate or demonstrate beliefs which are in conflict with those concerning learner autonomy. Thus the claims of the desirability and effectiveness of learner