College Essay
The summer before my sophomore year of high school I attended a youth mission trip through my church, Park Cities Baptist, which was heading to St. Louis, Missouri for 10 days. Little could I have known at the time how that unforgettable experience would impact the way I live my own life from then on.
Being transformed from my home in Dallas to the poverty areas in St. Louis opened up my eyes in a big way. My particular job on the trip was to go to daycares everyday and play with the children there. Many of the kids not only suffered from malnutrition but were neglected by their parents spending up to as much as 12 hours a day at the daycare even sleeping there occasionally. The workers at the daycare were nothing but grateful for some extra help and appreciated how the kids looked up to us as we were also kids in their eyes. We found ourselves each day swarmed by young children ranging from the ages of 2 years old all the way to 7, wanting nothing more than a simple hug or someone to bend down give them the attention they derseved.
As the week progressed it became apparent to me that the simple things in life that made these kids happy were overlooked by so many others. I grew to appreciate the happiness these kids held inside themselves when they were seemingly so unfortunate compared to everyone else. I realized how truly blessed I am to have the opportunity to make a difference in other peoples lives. Inspired by the mission trip, I came home a changed more grateful person eager to share with others the touching experience.
Always being a great people person I knew that helping others was something I was genuinely interested in and the mission trip gave me just the push I needed. Hopefully one day I can help those in need whether through volunteer work from the church or even in my chosen career choice in the future.
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