Hi there, I’m Kevin Do. I’ve lived in New Jersey for my entire life, but have been fortunate enough to travel to many different countries, ranging from Thailand and Japan to Australia and Germany. However, while I didn’t get a true cultural experience, I did get snippets of it here and there. These snippets merged with my experiences in New Jersey and culminated in my prided quality: adaptability.
Throughout my life I’ve always just filled in wherever I could, doing things no one else would want, sometimes just doing what others say. But sometimes I’d be put in a situation where no one would want to lead. As a result, I’d step up and assume the role in order to help hold the group together. No matter what I did though, I did it for the group. The consequence of acting like this is that I don’t really know myself.
If I think of humanity as a group, I wouldn’t know what to do. I would not know where to fill in. There are too many roles to fill and even people who are very poorly suited to their current roles. I wouldn’t know which was best for me. That is why I am taking a Global Citizen Year, to discover myself more. The prospect of living in an alien country for months and the challenges that it brings excites me. I believe that these challenges will definitely lead me to whatever role I am to fill. Challenges like a language barrier, limited forms of technology, and an unknown environment will definitely help me in the long run. These are the kind of challenges that immigrants, like my parents, face when coming to the USA and many of them learn to be hard-working and successful for their kids. However, the same kids are often “Americanized” and do not inherit the same zeal for hard-work that their parents do. By going on Global Citizen Year, I hope to reverse that and not take things for granted. I will also learn about myself and will determine a place for myself in life.
These kinds of challenges are ones I can’t get in a college environment and prepare me for the future beyond college. I believe that they will shape me in a way I can’t imagine, and I’m ready to dive right into them.
