The Festival of Chairs by Naomi

The Festival of Chairs by Naomi - February 2024 Scholarship Essay

In the heart of my childhood home, a captivating spectacle unfolded every evening—the enchanting "Festival of Chairs." Around our dining table, no two chairs matched, as if each were handpicked from a kaleidoscope of colors, sizes, and designs. This whimsical scene is not born of mere chance, but rather out of necessity. My mother has a special talent for inviting people into our home and filling it with warmth and laughter. Whether it is a spontaneous urge to tell her colleagues to come over after work or a simple call to the neighbors to join us, the house is always full during meals. However, our dining room is not able to accommodate the sheer number of guests, so we have no choice but to scrounge for chairs around the house. As we gather around the dinner table, it is not just a meal shared; it is an opportunity to forge connections, build relationships, and celebrate the richness of human diversity.

My mother's open-heartedness and desire to share food, a resource that was scarce during her childhood in famine-ridden Ethiopia, instilled a deep appreciation for the power of hospitality to bring people together in both me and my siblings. Whether it is family and friends from our Ethiopian community or an extended invitation to those beyond our immediate circle, my mother welcomes all with open arms. Sitting around the table, night after night, with an ever-changing group of people from different backgrounds and aspirations taught me that breaking bread is an important means of building bridges.

Inspired by my mother’s acts of generosity and passion for feeding people, I became actively engaged with a non-profit organization called 100 Billion Meals that strives to address food insecurity. Through 100 Billion Meals, I have been able to employ my ability to connect with both small and large businesses to secure sponsorships. This involves crafting compelling narratives and presenting a strong case for their involvement in our mission to fight hunger. It is not just about seeking financial support, but also about developing partnerships that align with our goals and values. Developing these partnerships demanded that I attend to each business’s interests and needs to forge lasting relationships. Building these bridges between our organization and the business community has been crucial in both securing resources and raising awareness for our cause. Through collaborating with diverse stakeholders, including experts, policymakers, and activists, my perspective has broadened immensely. By utilizing their insights and experiences, I have been able to contribute my drop in the bucket in the fight to tackle hunger in the developing world. It has deepened my passion for food equity and strengthened my commitment to the cause.

Now as I embark on my college career, I step away from the cherished Festival of Chairs, not to abandon its spirit, but to build a new table where diverse perspectives can come together, perhaps sharing a meal, to find common ground. I have learned the art of seeing multiple perspectives and seeking unity in diversity. I am committed to fostering an inclusive environment reminiscent of the one my mother created with her kaleidoscopic dining scene, where differing opinions are respected and genuine dialogue is encouraged. Just as I once scoured the house for mismatched chairs, I will take the skills I have learned — of empathy, communication, and hospitality — to gather those who can effectively seek solutions to urgent issues worldwide.We are the generation that will shape the future, determining the delicate balance of coexistence between humanity and machinery. As the lyric from a John Legend song goes, “the future started yesterday,” and as such, there are important lessons to draw upon from the great Greek philosophers like Socrates and Plato who faced similar paradigm shifts in society. I plan to integrate science, technology, philosophy, and storytelling, in an aspiration to solving world hunger and food insecurity. I see myself stepping into the shoes of a Sustainable Food Systems Specialist, a role that would allow me to leverage the power of technology, and infuse it with human-centered solutions, with the aim of democratizing access to a diverse range of foods and creating a sustainable and equitable food system for all.