Extraordinary words by Jade

Extraordinary words by Jade - May 2022 Scholarship Essay

"So extra," my friend muttered after hearing my seventh question on Amnesty International's involvement in the Chile protests. I bowed my head to hide the prickly fire that spread across my cheeks. The members of our neighborhood Amnesty chapter, whose work I had interrupted with my questions, now resumed copying Amnesty’s prewritten letters. According to my friend, sending these letters would be enough to push the Chilean government to act on injustices faced by their people. My eyes flashed up to my friend. I asked, "Would starting an initiative meant to amplify Chilean voices without understanding their choices create real, substantial change?" Silence.

I cared deeply about the work we were doing, and thus I needed to know more, needed to resolve our conflicting interests. Traces of attempts to summarize my understanding in the letter’s margins were reduced to mere eraser shavings on the edge of the desk. I doubted my impact on a campaign if I didn’t understand the injustices it fought for.

As my classmates copied Amnesty's template, I sent a stream of messages into Amnesty's networking system littered with question marks and bolded words. My hopes to find someone who shared my concern were answered when Amy, a 22-year-old Chilean activist, responded. I set up a virtual meeting with her right away.

Our eyes locked as soon as the video screens loaded. My pencil slipped from my hand hearing how Amy's peers sought to amplify global attention on the economic imbalance, previously masked by the Chilean government. My house fell silent to Amy's story of her father sacrificing his retirement pension to pay for her education tuition. My mind was transported to Chile's streets, where Amy yelled for justice to government soldiers, who responded with tear gas. My heart wrenched as my eyes traced the outlines of her blood-tinted scars from police bullets. Her stories provided me the intimate insight I sought to fully appreciate the Chilean people's sacrifice, which was unattainable solely through letter writing.

Instead of dismissing my seemingly 'extra' questions, Amy encouraged my curiosity that led me to have the opportunity to speak and listen to the experiences of her Chilean Amnesty group. It was both my thirst for knowledge and her willingness to share her story guided a more extensive understanding of the gravity of their injustice and resolved my previous confusion.

As I reflected on the equal value that came from Amy and my friend’s choices, I decided to integrate both ideas by introducing an Amnesty International Club at my school. Before we participated in Amnesty International campaigns, I would invite International activists and student leaders for discussion in virtual meetings. By bridging the physical and mental distance between my peers in America and international countries, I work to cultivate a community that works in a partnership to grow by embracing our distinctive values and experiences.

Despite our different upbringings and views for advocacy, we uplift each other through a shared responsibility to use our resources and outreach platform to continue educating ourselves and being open-minded about ideas from others. I hope to continue developing a community for other intellectually curious peers to learn from each other, invite diversity, and create meaningful change that reflects our individual and collective values.

To my friend, I am extra for asking too many questions. To myself, I am ordinary for seeing it as a personal responsibility to find those answers. To the world, I hope to embrace both, fully becoming the extraordinary me.