From Narrowness to Openness by Sloane

From Narrowness to Openness by Sloane - January 2017 Scholarship Essay

Most of us like to stay in our own little worlds, ignoring the problems that do not affect us, but venturing out into the world can change our perspectives and make us better people. This was a lesson I learned this past summer.
An opportunity arose for me to travel on a mission trip to Libertad, Belize. It was a location I had never been to before and I would be two plane rides away from my family, but I decided to take a chance and say yes. It was the best decision I have ever made. I flew on my first ever plane ride to Belize and upon arrival, we boarded an old school bus and drove over two hours to our destination. The very first thing I noticed immediately was the overwhelming heat. It was so hot that even while sitting I was still pouring sweat!
When we arrived in the village, we were greeted by mosquitoes and an overzealous pastor. The first day was pure fear. We stayed in an open air, one-room church without air conditioning or running water. My shower for the week was a bucket and we couldn’t flush the toilet paper. The night was never ending and I did not know if I could last five more days, but the next day everything changed. Happy, wonderful, curious children surrounded us. Despite their poor surroundings, they were overflowing with joy. From the second day on, I knew everything would be okay.
Throughout the rest of the week, those children changed my entire life, and I decided then that I wanted to go into international politics so that I could help those in situations similar to what I survived.
This opportunity opened my eyes to other problems and gave me a chance to look for opportunities to serve, so when Hurricane Matthew hit the South Carolina coast in October, I rallied our community to provide food, water, and supplies for those ravaged and misplaced by the hurricane's fury. Within one week, we were able to gather a multitude of supplies and my family rented a U-Haul to personally distribute these necessities to over 100 misplaced migrant workers in the Beaufort area.
I learned staying in my comfort zone holds me back and makes me a narrow minded person. The experiences outside of my comfort zone have changed my life for the better. I now feel I have a purpose, a calling, and a career path to follow.