Personal Knowledge and Experience - Essay Example

Personal Experience Essay My family and a thousand hands have touched my life, enabling me to become the person I am today. My experiences, the adversity that I have overcome, as well as the relationships I have developed here and abroad have facilitated my personal growth and inspired my quest to become an accomplished professional. I am very much a product of my culture and I look forward to serving my community by working in a service-related profession to address some of the most pressing issues facing indigents whom I have grown up with. My childhood is wrought with vivid memories of poverty, suffering and struggle on one end; and of fortitude, strength in adversity and spirituality on the other. I was raised by a single mother who tided us over by working as a cab driver. This meant that most of my growing up years were spent with a real experience on hunger and the realities of the divide between the rich and the indigent. Despite our financial constraints, I managed to send myself through high school, and on ocassion, I took on part-time work to be able to complement the meager allowance being provided by my mother. Moreover, as a natural consequence of our impoverished state, I had to learn how to be frugal – a value which I have brought with me til adulthood. Throughout my growing years, I have learned how to live within my means. I had to be able to budget effectively to be able to survive. Seeing all of the misery that go with being poor has compelled me to finish my education to be able to uplift the pitiful lifestyle that we had. My mother herself has not been educated, and I realize now that this is where poverty is deeply rooted. Ignorance, after all, is not bliss. On the other hand, my experience of growing up in a poor family and community has also instilled in me values that have helped me go through life more effectually. Since I have experienced how it is to be indigent, I have learned simplicity and frugality. Thus, I never spend on wants, but instead only buy what I need. I still do dream of a life of luxury, but I do realize that this stature does not come instantaneously. Normally, it comes with both ingenuity and hard work. Because I had to surpass many trials in life which mainly involve having a single mother, I have developed emotional maturity earlier than most individuals my age. I have learned to understand why she has chosen to be a single mother and have also learned how to respect that choice. Not all people are alike in the way they think, feel, and behave; and despite these differences, I should learn how to respect their individuality and to respect them as unique people. My community is composed of people from diverse backgrounds, and the wealth in cultural diversity has allowed me to reinforce such respect for individuals. Patience has also been deeply inculcated in me because I had to save to be able to buy what I want. I had to scrimp whatever money I had to be able to buy what I wanted. And boy, the saving part of the process was not something easy. Altruism is an expression of genuine selflessness and I had much of this while growing up; it means reaching out to others, without expecting anything in return – not anything material, at least. I have felt a strong sense of altruism in my experience as volunteer at the American Red Cross, for example. I feel blessed in being able to participate in providing relief for victims of disasters, and in helping or responding to people involved in emergencies. It is also through this role that I realized that no kind act could be trivial. Most people just wait for a friendly gesture, a smile, a pat on the back, or a compliment, and this may drastically change their perspective of life. My experiences in working as a volunteer allowed me to realize the importance – the ‘ripple effect’ – that such seemingly trivial acts of kindness can instigate. Another experience of altruism would be my volunteer stint at a local school. It is a non-profit, grassroots organization, whose operations are mainly carried out by volunteers. Our main beneficiaries are elementary and high school students of the locality who wish to improve their academic performance, and their personal lives in general. This has served as a venue for thorough exposure to people from different walks of life, and addressing a wide array of delinquencies, including drugs, violence, and alcohol. It has allowed me to help them accept their difficulties or their addiction, which is a big, critical first step to recovery. Once there is acceptance, multi-cultural volunteers like myself are given the chance to help them cope with these issues. One particular activity is the ‘Challenge Day’, where I facilitate sessions teaching them how to cope up with violence, peer pressure and alienation. At this very impressionable stage, these youths need to have good role models who may edify them through example. This has inspired me to strive to be the best, self-actualized individual I can be, knowing that part of them relies on the example that I see in me; I am thus accountable for the values that are instilled in them through the program. This realization has made me more responsible and prudent in my decisions and behavior. I have had similar volunteer experiences in teaching with another group that caters to elementary, junior high, and high school students. This experience has given me the opportunity to design learner-centered activities that motivated them to learn more. I also took into consideration the methodologies which I use in imparting learning, making sure that each session was not boring; that examples may be easily related to; and where the student’s creativity and autonomy may be aptly exercised. With this enthusiasm, I feel that I was able to create a positive impression of learning among my students. I also think of small ways to motivate them or reinforce good behavior, which somehow helped enhance their self-esteem. All through my life, I have enjoyed being of service to people who are in need. I feel that in being able to help them, I am "going back" to my old self and am helping myself heal the scars wrought by adverse poverty. These opportunities have allowed me to interact with diverse, multicultural groups, and be passionately involved in helping the youth, in particular. Apart from academic excellence, I have independently designed activities that helped instill in them the values of assertiveness, responsibility, and a can-do attitude. I take profound pride in seeing that I have imparted to them the importance of academic excellence and of making value-driven decisions; I myself have developed greater self-mastery, accountability for my actions, and a stronger sense of altruism. I feel that my experiences brought about by my status as a child of a single mother have molded me to become a stronger and more mature individual. Because of my family’s financial constraints, I have been compelled to seek both part-time and full-time jobs to sustain my education and my family. But these experiences, instead of putting me down, have only been temporary setbacks. Because of these experiences in diversity, I have learned how to persevere and to be more goal and results-driven. These virtues are critical for my future family to be able to draw strength from me. I have always placed high premium in good interpersonal relations, so this is again another skill that I have to possess as an effective professional, in whatever field I choose. I would also like to be remembered me as someone who has a heart for the poor and for minorities. Because of the financial difficulties of my family, I have learned to be an individual with fortitude, someone who does not get easily disheartened. As I was growing up with matrutiy with all that I see and am exposed to, I feel that my best contribution to society would be my selfless service to the underprivileged through a career that has to do with service. I have had very memorable community service experiences, particularly with a school where I served as tutor-mentor to youths. This has entailed preparing activities that would help them deal with critical juvenile issues such as drugs, peer pressure and violence. At first glance, the role of a tutor may seem simple; however, when one analyzes the implications of teaching a child and the values that you impart to him or her during the process, this whole picture of simplicity changes – into one of grave responsibility and maturity. The role has entailed autonomy and initiative on the part of the tutor, since you are tasked to custom-design the work / lesson plan of your student. I have mainly dealt with very young learners, ranging from elementary to junior high and high school levels. These students are very impressionable indeed, and learn not only the theoretical concepts that you convey to them, but also the manner, the values and the way you communicate to them in the process. I call it a ‘ripple effect’. When I come down to thinking about it, these youngsters, having had a close relationship with me as a teacher and brother, may carry on these values even until adulthood. This role has instilled a very strong sense of leadership and accountability in me, and has made me realize that I share part of myself to these kids during our frequent learning interactions. These experiences have convinced me all the more to pursue a service-related degree because service to others has given me an immense sense of self-fulfillment. Read More