As the van pulled up into the school for the blind, my eyes wandered to grasp the unfamiliar setting before me. Goosebumps appeared on my tanned arms while my mind jumped through the puddles of confusion bubbling inside.
Read MoreSelf-confidence and determined endeavor are qualities that are not unheard of when one is trying to achieve a particular goal. I have been told a countless amount of times to “believe in myself,” or to “try harder,” and these suggestions were only amplified in my time at Andover, a place that often serves as an accentuated microcosm of an individualistic society. These qualities had been to me an obvious component of the recipe for achieving a type of perfection, be it in academics, social capital, leadership qualities, fearlessness and the list goes on.
Read More“What’s meant to fail will fail / What’s meant to soar will soar” —Nimo
Sitting cross-legged on a smooth stone floor, socks and shoes shed, the words of Nimo’s seed-planting song overpowered the ubiquitous hum of scattered fans.
Read MoreI was really surprised when they asked us “What is your superpower?” at the beginning of their presentation on ‘Design For Change’. Looking around, I noticed that the other Niswarth students were also a little bit confused by the question. Didn’t people usually ask, “If you could have any superpower, which one would you choose?”
Read MoreI grew up with a shallow perception of love. I saw love as a fleeting feeling of attraction, a materialistic concept accompanied by a box of chocolates with a bouquet of flowers. Only now have I come to realize, love is trust. Love is empathy. Love is compassion.
Read More“If you don't have joy in your mind, then you are unable to defecate properly.”
Read MoreLife exists in the present, not in the past or future. The future is undefined, the past is certain, and the end is definite.
Read MoreI was raised to expect. If I was to do something, I was to get something in return. It was an engrained mechanism, a way of thinking that emerged as soon as I regurgitated a correct answer in the classroom and was rewarded with stickers, 100 percent marks, a promise of future success. Life was an endless transaction of motivations, actions and assumptions based on the sole idea that the determination of my personal merit and self-worth relied in how much I received.
Read MoreI arrive thinking education is the issue at hand.
Read More“Feel.”
Meena’s eyes crinkled as she laughed and turned back to the huddle of boys. I somehow understood her fluid train of words, “She doesn’t understand what I am saying. And I don’t speak English.” Her apparent frustration and determination to explain the game to me caused me to laugh along with her.
Read MoreWhat if college applications didn’t ask for your position in a club, but how you actually contribute to the group?
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