Coming of Age on the New Jersey Shore - Essay Example

Coming of Age on the New Jersey Shore I remember when I was young and growing up in New Jersey how the winters always seemed so cold and filled with snow. The wind would blow with the fierceness of the hurricane winds. I can still recall looking out across the housing division in a blinding snowstorm, the nearest houses barely visible in the wind swept snow. As I grew older, I learned to tolerate and even enjoy the snow, but I never got use to the wind. By now, I was venturing farther from my middle class neighborhood and discovered the Atlantic Ocean.

Here I spent my summers in the cool of the ocean breeze, dreaming of the places Id go, and planning for the things Id become. As the years passed, I became more aware of New York City just an hour away. Here was the greatest mix of diversity in the world, yet strangely troubled by a melting pot that was boiling over. I was safe in my small white-collar bedroom community, so close and yet so far away. I was dismayed that the life of security I led was taken for granted, while people on my doorstep were struggling with the issues of crime, drugs, and alienation.

I became ever more interested in trying to find a way to help the world politically, economically, and socially. When 9/11 shook the planet it also rocked my world of safety and security. As I thought about the people who died in an attempt just to lead their daily lives, it drew me out of my complacency. The bravery of the rescue workers that lost their lives to save others would not be lost on me. Certainly there was something I could do with my future that could help prevent this tragedy from ever happening again.

My experience with athletics had taught me that it aint over until its over. For me, my dedication to improving the conditions of the world around me had just begun. My parents instilled in me a sense of duty to the world around me. They would fulfill their duty to the world by their attention to charity and volunteer work. It was always just accepted that you would do something for the good of your community or mankind. It was this commitment to citizenship that urged me to seek a career where I could be of a benefit to the rest of the planet.

I was fortunate to grow up in a well-behaved neighborhood with honest and humble neighbors. They had no room for the braggart, the rude, or the sort that was careless with life. I grew up believing the whole world was as well mannered as everybody on my block and believed that that was the way you were supposed to act. I was disappointed, but not shocked, to learn that I had just been fortunate as a young child. This has prompted me to volunteer to help children who may have been deprived of a home where honor and decency were normal and not considered unusual.

I consider myself lucky to have grown up in the midst of such treasures as the Atlantic Ocean, New York City, and my old neighborhood. They have given me the desire to want to change the world, yet they have maintained my perspective to realize that I can only influence a small part of it. I want to continue my education and expand my horizons to influence the world in areas that are not often seen, but felt. I can help a child grow into a happy adult, or a prisoner of poverty escape their chains.

These are the things that will keep me centered and these are the things that will be my greatest reward.