Function of the Scholastic Activities - Essay Example

Function of the Scholastic ActivitiesAlthough many admissions essays would chose to focus on how the individual credits their academic success as a function of the scholastic activities they have engaged in and the prior academic record they have earned, this essay will diverge from this trend. Rather than regurgitating what is clearly seen on paper by way of my academic record, I would like to take this opportunity to express one of the defining moments in my life and how it altered the way I see the world and interact with it.

As college is an environment where an individual is supposed to grow and develop new ideas, it is also fertile ground to expand upon those ideas that have previously helped to shape one’s life. The following analysis will briefly recount one such story.For years one of my closest friends had been traveling to Peru to volunteer in a clinic that his mother ran deep within the Amazonian rainforest. I eyed their yearly trips to Peru with marked curiosity as I was unsure whether they were simply doing this in order to fulfill some type of religious requirement or take an exotic vacation.

Finally, through the course of our friendship I began to ask details of what this trip involved, what the purpose of it was, and why the family saw it necessary to do this. The response I received was entirely unexpected. They family invited me to come and see.By virtue of obtaining a US passport and assuring myself that I was up to date with all of my shots, I agreed and undertook to accompany them as they traveled to Peru. My expectations were low as I assumed that the family would live the life of Americans while administering to the needs of the Peruvians by day.

What I saw helped to change my worldview. Rather than enjoying a life of relative ease, which could readily been afforded, the family opted instead to live and work with the locals. This included eating the same foods, living in the same types of accommodations, sharing the same experience and customs with the locals. More than just a summer getaway with the added bonus of performing a modicum of “feel good humanitarian work”, what I saw was selfless sacrifice on the part of this family as well as the other unpaid volunteers that had given freely of themselves to work with this community.

With regards to what this did and what this taught me, it opened my eyes to the fact that there remains great need within this world. Some of those needs are as simple as relocating the specialized expertise of a few medical professionals and support staff for a few brief weeks during the summer. Although this example was medical in nature, it underscores a more prominent theme with relation to service that has helped to define the way I intend on living my life. Accordingly, I consider myself a more well-rounded and better acclimated person due to the fact that I was able to go, to give freely of myself and of my time, and at least in some small way - make the world a better place.