Throughout the last
three to four years of my life, I have experienced a variety of profound
transformations. Some that were voluntary, some that were almost completely out
of my hands, and some that were situated somewhere in between the two. After
all, being a college student trying to traverse the perilous ordeal of choosing
a career path, and actually sticking with it, has been something that has
plagued me since the beginning. I always have had a general idea of where my
skill sets lay, but I was not always confident where they were best applied. I
decided to become a psychology major, as I knew working individually with
people was something that spoke deeply to me. I am not the most extroverted
person, but forming genuine relationships has always proven to be a fantastic
motivator for myself. With that said, I had never been quite sure what specific
area of psychology I would engage in and pursue. Luckily, that all really began
to change for me through service work in David’s freshman year “Immigration,
Migration, and Belonging” course.
I enrolled in the course
without much knowledge of what it would look like and because I was not sure
what else to take at the time. Of course, I am so happy I did now, but I might
not have had the same excitement for what was to come upon registering. This
was especially the case when the initial idea of volunteering outside of the
classroom was brought to my attention. I had never really done much service
work in my life, so there is no other way around it but to say that I was
somewhat nervous for what was to come. Would I be effective in helping others,
at this point in my life? Would people be receptive to me? These were all
doubts that began to emerge and cloud my expectations.
At the start of Winter
term of that year, I began volunteering out at Earl Boyles Primary School out
in the David Douglas School District. Of all the presented options of places to
volunteer at, I figured that younger kids would be easier to work with.
Nonetheless, I hopped on the bus behind my freshman year dormitory and embarked
on the 30-minute bus ride to Earl Boyles with no idea of what I was getting
myself into.
As soon as I entered the
building, I immediately began to feel a bit more at ease. Shortly after
arriving, I was assigned to work in a classroom of 5th graders. I was placed in
a particular classroom with another volunteer to focus on helping two students
that had struggled academically and socially throughout the year. Now, this was
something that was still quite outside of my comfort zone. I had never been in
a position where impressionable kids were looking up to me for advice or to
answer one of their many questions. More doubts slowly followed. Although this
time, the idea began to present itself in a much more positive light. The
hardest part - actually stepping foot on the bus, into the school, and meeting with
the staff - was completed, and I became much more optimistic about the
experience. I suppose that feeling is quite relevant to most new opportunities
in life. Once we begin to place ourselves in a state of relative discomfort, we
position ourselves in a way that enables growth in some form or another.
Without taking a gamble, we risk stagnating where we are. I know this has been
true for myself in the past, as I have not always pushed myself as hard to
leave my comfort zone. The push from David’s course was exactly what I needed
at that period of my life.
With my outlook
improving, finally getting to enter the classroom and introduce myself to the
students instantaneously overrode the initial anxieties that had built up.
These were doubts and anxieties that existed only in my head and were quickly
dispelled by the beaming smiles and elation of the students towards me. Any
doubt over whether or not I was qualified to help the students became
irrelevant, as the kids certainly treated me as if I was fit for the job. It
became clear to me that this was something that gave me a great sense of
fulfillment and purpose. Furthermore, it made me realize the importance of
supporting young people and encouraging them to be their best selves. I think
this is a principle that has gotten lost along the way in our accolade-based
education system.
As time passed, I began
to form greater connections with the students I had been working with
independently. The eventual trust that developed really helped me settle in and
improve my overall service work. More importantly, it helped me help them, and
the benefits of this were largely noticeable. One of the two was someone that
struggled to make friends and fit in with their peers. It was not a long time
before he was chatty and playing basketball with all the other students at
recess. This was someone who I could not previously get a word out of. The
other student struggled academically throughout his time at the school, but saw
the overall largest grade improvement of any student in the 5th grade at the
end of the year. It finally clicked for me. My experience at Earl Boyles was
entirely transformative, as it helped guide me down the path of identifying a
particular career in psychology. I had seen that I was truly capable of working
with kids, but without being pushed to do so might not have fully realized this
passion.
In fact, the following
year led me to begin working at the Boys and Girls Club of Portland, in a very
similar environment with other elementary school kids. The job has allowed me
to further minimize doubts in my life, find purpose, and improve my abilities
of working with kids. My recent experiences with the Boys and Girls Club has
shown me how kids are the individuals who need additional support the most.
Lots of the kids I work with have difficult home lives, trauma, or other issues
that are not always visible or able to be addressed by a teacher in a normal
30-student classroom. So, it has become my mission to do my part in assisting
students who find themselves in these situations and work as some sort of child
therapist or counselor. I’m still figuring it out.
On top of my career, it
has also helped transform me into a better person. It has taught me the
importance of giving back to the community and those who need it most. There
are so many different kinds of people struggling with different types of
issues, that I have definitely begun to transition my life into a more caring
and conscious one. I view all people’s issues as valid and worth finding
solutions for. If a person is voicing concerns about an issue, there is most
likely truth to be found within those concerns, whether we are currently aware
of it or not.
These values of having a
conscious awareness and caring for those around us are ones that are not new to
me, but certainly new in their application to my current life. The first person
who truly demonstrated these values to me was my mother. She was a school
teacher before I was born and lived her life with an unmatched gratitude and
thoughtfulness towards those around her. Unfortunately, she passed away a
little over a year ago while battling a second round of aggressive colorectal
cancer. She was originally diagnosed with stage 4 cancer when I was only in 5th
grade, so her battle with cancer and the fight for her life was something that
always played a role in my development. One of the major things I took away
from the many years when she struggled through chemotherapy, radiation, and
being bed-ridden was how her spirit and optimism continued to prevail. In the
face of death, she remained focused on checking in with others, giving to
others when she could, and living a lifestyle that encouraged peace and
happiness for all of those around her. Having a first-hand view of this battle
really transformed the way I looked at life. It provided me with a whole new
perspective. How could somebody, whose chances of surviving seemed so bleak,
remain so positive and filled with gratitude? Moreover, it helped me understand
that if she, in her health, could remain living with such compassion for the
world then it was totally possible for me to do the same.
As a result, it also
helped me get in touch with my vulnerabilities and appreciate the unseen
vulnerabilities of those around me. Growing up, my peers at school did not know
what I was going through at home. That undoubtedly made things much tougher, as
I felt like it was a secret burden to my life. Now that I’m a little older and
able to do service work, I definitely carry that knowledge into each day. We
never know someone’s whole story just from an initial glance or what we assume
to be true for someone else. We are all unique individuals with our own
exceptional stories. That’s how we must treat all of those around us.
Thank you, David for
giving me a platform to tell my experiences and for those of you who have read
this piece. If there are any primary takeaways from this, I would say to
constantly try to find ways to push yourself out of your comfort zone, give
back to those around us in the best way possible, and live with a conscious
awareness of the fact that we do not know everything about everything that meets
the eye. I still have a lot to learn and figure out, but I’m optimistic for the
future, as the principles act as a light to illuminate the path ahead of me.
