The Paths We Take Make Us Who We Are

There are many things in life that shape us to become what the world has destined for us to be. Just a single action can trigger a widespread chain of lifelong changes sometimes for the better and other times for the worse. These changes ultimately make us who we are and who we will become. There are many life stories of people who have made choices that make them exactly who they are today, but below I will tell you about mine.

When I was in 5th grade at the age of 10 I was fortunate enough to go on a vacation out of the country. This was a pivotal moment in my life because my family had never really had enough money to go on a trip with all of us, but we did this time because my dad saved up; we were going to the Philippines. Even though it was just supposed to be a vacation, it ended up being something completely different. During our time there, we stayed with my uncle who lived in an underprivileged neighborhood.Spending time with my relatives in that place made me realize that I took things for granted. My thoughts recollected at the church, where I really saw a different view of my dad. He was teaching in a huge, crowded church and what he said and did seemed

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.

Going to Haiti is an incredible adventure and it really puts in perspective how much I take for granted everyday. Most Haitians my age have no bed to sleep on, a small shack which they call home and share with their extensive families, and not a clue what they are going to do that day when they wake up. In a way, which may sound selfish, I wish to live like them to feel what it’s like to always be happy and full of spirit regardless of the food they eat or the clothes on their backs. I have many memories and experiences similar to the ones shared and I had moments like those spent with Kata and the man during village ministry every day with various Haitians. The Haitians impact my life more and more every second I am there, and even though Haiti may seem like the poorest country in the world and the mosquitos are horrible, and the heat could drive one mad, I will always choose Haiti over any other place in the world as my happy place, and there is not a place I’d rather be than

Back in 2014 and 2015, the school I used to attend in the Dominican Republic organized trips to orphanages in Haiti. 80 percent of the 32 000 orphans across the 760 orphanages have parents who want them, but they are not able to support their children. The organized trips were crucial in forming me as a caring and loving person. Before, I wouldn’t have been able to imagine how heart-breaking watching these starving, cheerless children would be. I always visualized kids as playful, blissful, and joyful creatures. However, looking at the Haitian orphans I realized how cruel reality can be to people. It was the first time I’ve faced such conditions, and I strongly rejected the fact who there are people in the world that may deserve even a little part of it.

When I was eight years of age, I started to realize that there was an entire word outside of the town, state, and country that I lived in. I became concerned about the lives of others, even those that I didn’t know personally. I often thought “There are people in other countries that don’t even have enough water to live, and I am living an amazing life here in America”. Not only was I concerned for those people, but I took action to help them. It was then that I started a fundraiser to raise money for people that can’t afford the basic necessities to live in third world countries. To this day, I have been saving every penny I could afford to make sure other people can live a better life.

Who I am today is a result of my life experiences and the ways I have chosen to deal with them.

I went on my first mission trip when I was thirteen years old. As a child myself, I did not fully understand the inequalities I saw; I merely recognized they were there. I felt a deep empathy for the children who had lived vastly different and harder lives than me. There were kids my own age who wore shoes that were three sizes too small, who walked a mile to school, and who faced constant adversity socially, economically, and personally. I questioned: what made us so different that I would never share a similar experience?

On one sunny day, I was helping my mom doing chores when she pulled me over to talk to me about something important. I was confused why my mom would want to me about something important, but I listened to what she said and followed her. What she told me was what her life was like back in Vietnam. She did not have much of an education. Instead, she stayed home with her mom to sell Vietnamese yogurt every day for a living. Since I was born in America, I never thought of life was like for others in developing countries like Vietnam. Hearing from my mom's experience, it stuck with me. I learned the importance of being grateful for what I have since they are a lot of people who do not have what we have in America and it made me want to help those who are in need. I was also inspired to do whatever I

I saw kids of all ages living with a burden pinned to their backs. However, they did not show it. They were just like me, a normal kid. Yet everyday they had to live in a sort of jail. Following a strict schedule when to eat, play, sleep, and go to school. They couldn’t hop in the car with their mom and go to the mall. The things I take for granted were what they were praying for. While here my fellow life teen members and I came together as a sort of beacon of light to play with and be a friend to these kids. We all came together to achieve a common goal and help those in need. This experience really hit home with me as I underappreciate all the little things in life that I should be grateful for. Trying to live a selfless life can be hard, but I will continue to help my community and those in need throughout my

Coming home from the mission trip, I try and show this sympathy to everyone just like Jaston showed us. I learned to put other people’s needs above my own. Helping my siblings with their homework and baking cookies for my seminar are just a few, small ways I’ve tried to be giving. The next year I returned to the reservation, I didn’t have to wait for something to happen to start loving the kids and shaping my own character. This experience taught me to live for others and always be kind and sharing. I will always remember what Jaston said, and because of that I plan to always be

People become who they are through eventful personal experiences they go through. Personal experiences help to shape people become who they would be, like a blade gaining its shape through a trial by fire. One of my most significant personal experiences had to be my immigration to the United States at the age of eight. Moving to a new country can be a big change to anyone and it was not different for me as it impacted me in the way I act today and it changed my world view.

One of the experiences that touched me the most was going to a humble community on Children’s Day. When we got to the place, I gave to a little boy, his present, he smiled, hugged me and told me: “Come back next year please, I feel that I love you right now”. And since that moment I created one of my biggest dreams, being a philanthropist to teach humble communities how to eat with their own sources of food around the world.

To help this fourth grader and many other students struggling, Lawrence Catholic Academy has volunteers such as myself and some of my peers that attempt to help these children as much as possible. I believe honestly believe that what I am doing by helping this fourth grader is out of true generosity. I genuinely enjoy helping others and from this experience, it just confirms that being a teacher and helping students is what I want to do with my life.

Who am I? Who will I become? These are questions asked many times over as we constantly feel the need to define ourselves. Many people believe that a person can be defined as a collection of all his or her actions. However, this view is not entirely correct. It is not just our actions that define who we are or who we will become, but It is also our morals and values, the parenting that we received, our circumstance, our friends and family and society as a whole that has a great impact on who we are and as well as who we will become.