As this month long program finally reaches its twilight hours, I find it fitting that this entire story has come full circle. Here I am, sitting at the same computer, in the same hostel in Beijing, just like I was when I was writing one of my very first entries what seems like an eternity ago. This full circle ending feels rather appropriate, as most great epics have a tendency to end where they begin. And while my small quest is inconsequential compared to those grand tales like the Odyssey, this adventure was unbelievably important and life changing for me, and was as influential to me as any legendary myth.
The past few days have been a long series of difficult trials and tribulations: it seems to me that this trip is trying to drag me down to the very last minute. First of the challenges was the bus ride from the school to the city of HuaiHua, which seemed to me to have been much longer and bumpy than the first time. Carsickness hounded me the entire way there, but fortunately, we made it back to the city without much incident. Unfortunately, the subsequent 26 hour long train ride to Beijing was not as fortunate: throughout it all, I had an intense feeling of motion sickness, which increased exponentially until finally I couldn't hold myself back and threw up. So yeah, not exactly a fun ride, but at least now I only have 14 hours of plane rides to look forward to, and I'll be home!
But there has also been a fair share of enjoyment these days, as us volunteers engaged in a bit of last minute bonding. We went to Karaoke again, but most important of all was that, after an entire month without meat, we all pigged out at KFC, devouring bucket after bucket of sweet, greasy, delicious meat. I got a feeling in my stomach (literally) that the KFC feast may have been directly linked to my later vomiting-fest, but it was worth it. However, one must also be able to take the good with the bad, and these last happy days have also been filled with the melancholic emotions of goodbyes: Our last meal in Huaihua also served as a goodbye party between the International volunteers and the Chinese volunteers, and I was amazed how, even though we had just known each other for a few weeks, and at times couldn't even fully communicate together, the separation was so painful for all of us. And now, in a few hours, us volunteers will also be going our separate ways. It is a bittersweet time, but I do not feel that much grief or sadness: I know that the bonds that have been forged out of our shared experiences are strong, and can last the strain of both time and distance. Perhaps one day, hopefully in the near future, we will once again meet, and continue on that friendship that was born during this trip.
With my dream that I have built for an entire year finally reaching its finale, I once again consider the reasons for coming here, the goals I wanted to accomplish, and whether I was ever capable of achieving this goal. From the moment I began to contemplate doing an international volunteer trip, my primary drive has always been that ideal, that image of the world citizen. I was hoping that, through this trip, I would take my first step in the long journey to become a model world citizen, and in some way complete the duty of a world citizen. But now that I have completed this program, I have come to an important revelation. I have realized that, for as long as I live, I will never fully fulfill the complete duty of a world citizen. I will never reach a point in my life where I can say "I have finished the responsibilities of a human being, and can now retire from the worries of the earth". The only time this will happen is with death. My actions during this voyage may have helped a part of the planet, may have been in accordance to my dream of a world citizen, but it is only one event, one trip, one problem fixed. Just recently I read online about the issues that plague the planet: the growing violence in Egypt and Iraq, the leaks in the Fukishima plant in Japan, distrust between powerful nations. There will always be strife in the world: this is not cynicism, but rather scientific analysis.
The universe is a creation defined by a constant series of entropy and destruction, from the death of stars fueling the birth of new stars, to the never ending competition to survive that is the basis of natural selection and evolution. Humans, however, are the exception to that rule: for all the 15 billion years this Universe has existed, no other being other than sentient life is capable of the creation of a complex civilization and of such unbelievable powerful thinking. And humanity is the only sentient species on Earth, and as far as we know, the entirety of the Universe. We have the power to reverse the destructive nature of the Universe, of bringing order to the chaos, of not allowing our fellow human to succumb to the cruel tendencies of fate and instead forge our own path. My world citizen is not a goal, an end product, but rather a philosophy, a state of mind, that of accepting ones position as a single part of a grand civilization, of pursuing ones own hopes and dreams, while at the same time working to assure the well being and survival of all other humans and of the planet. Granted, this is a daunting task for any single person alone, impossible really. But I'm not alone in this, as I realized in this trip.
All over the world, a new breed of human beings is coming to light. They are above the antiquated divisions that have been established in the past: borders, race, ethnicity, religion, all those fade into the background so that everyone can be helped. Each day their numbers grow, and their ranks are filled from all parts of society, from every generation, from every country. Don't believe me? In a few weeks, I will go to school, alongside other males and females, with people from the Middle East, India, China, South America, Europe, Africa, will study with Catholics, Mormons, and Atheists, live side by side with both straights and homosexuals, learning together about what we can do for the planet, preparing for that day where we will all inherit the world, with all the good and the bad. A few centuries ago, a few decades ago, hell, even a few years ago this scene would have seemed impossible. But it is happening, and people are coming together like never before. Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean. That quote, by Ryunosuke Satoro, is commonly used by United Planet, and fits perfectly with my ideals. Some cynics may believe that humans are the root of all that is evil in the world. Me? I believe we are the most powerful force of hope and change to have ever existed since the Big Bang itself.
This trip would have been impossible without the support of a multitude of people. I would like to thank my family especially, for all the support they have given me since the very beginning. I would like to thank my Mother, Claudia, for helping me with organization and preparation, and assuring that, as I was busy with school, all the requirements for the trip were met. I would like to thank my Father, Pedro, for all of the tips and support that helped me get through the hardest parts of the trip, and constantly reminding me of my dream. I would also like to thank Regina, my sister, for her undying support for this trip, and always challenging me to do my best.
I would like to thank all those who donated to help me fund my program. Without your help, it would have been impossible for me to have gone on this trip, and for that, I am eternally thankful, and will always consider you all great friends.
I would like to thank my teachers, both form FAIS, Gilkey, and ISB, for giving me the education I needed to develop my mind and philosophical perspective, helping me expand my horizons to the entire world, and giving me my love for learning and curious nature. I would especially like to thank Amy Schuff: since I started High School in ISB, you have helped me get introduced to the system, and have helped me greatly in my social studies/ history classes. Your help as my Extended Essay and CAS coordinator has been invaluable, and I thank you for all your support and patience as I continue preparing for the future.
I would like to thank my DnD group, because I totally believe that it was through DnD that I learned how to speak much more comfortably with other people, and thus was capable of forming much easier friendships with the other volunteers.
Finally, and most important of all, I would like to thank you, the readers, for following me throughout my trip. Knowing that, as I worked to make the world better, people supported me and wished me the best of luck, I was able to continue with my work, never once giving up or faltering. It is because of you that I was able to see this program to the end, and I will never forget your support.
Today, one chapter of my life comes to an end. But it is far from the final chapter, as new opportunities will arise in the future, new adventures, new stories. As I continue to follow my dream of becoming a doctor, the lessons and revelations I gained from this trip will support me for the rest of my life. I have proved to myself that I can bring hope into the world, and now that I have, I will never stop.
All of you, Thank You! Remain compassionate to others, stay true to your beliefs, hold onto hope, and the world will become great!
Just a kid with a dream,
Diego Molina
The past few days have been a long series of difficult trials and tribulations: it seems to me that this trip is trying to drag me down to the very last minute. First of the challenges was the bus ride from the school to the city of HuaiHua, which seemed to me to have been much longer and bumpy than the first time. Carsickness hounded me the entire way there, but fortunately, we made it back to the city without much incident. Unfortunately, the subsequent 26 hour long train ride to Beijing was not as fortunate: throughout it all, I had an intense feeling of motion sickness, which increased exponentially until finally I couldn't hold myself back and threw up. So yeah, not exactly a fun ride, but at least now I only have 14 hours of plane rides to look forward to, and I'll be home!
But there has also been a fair share of enjoyment these days, as us volunteers engaged in a bit of last minute bonding. We went to Karaoke again, but most important of all was that, after an entire month without meat, we all pigged out at KFC, devouring bucket after bucket of sweet, greasy, delicious meat. I got a feeling in my stomach (literally) that the KFC feast may have been directly linked to my later vomiting-fest, but it was worth it. However, one must also be able to take the good with the bad, and these last happy days have also been filled with the melancholic emotions of goodbyes: Our last meal in Huaihua also served as a goodbye party between the International volunteers and the Chinese volunteers, and I was amazed how, even though we had just known each other for a few weeks, and at times couldn't even fully communicate together, the separation was so painful for all of us. And now, in a few hours, us volunteers will also be going our separate ways. It is a bittersweet time, but I do not feel that much grief or sadness: I know that the bonds that have been forged out of our shared experiences are strong, and can last the strain of both time and distance. Perhaps one day, hopefully in the near future, we will once again meet, and continue on that friendship that was born during this trip.
With my dream that I have built for an entire year finally reaching its finale, I once again consider the reasons for coming here, the goals I wanted to accomplish, and whether I was ever capable of achieving this goal. From the moment I began to contemplate doing an international volunteer trip, my primary drive has always been that ideal, that image of the world citizen. I was hoping that, through this trip, I would take my first step in the long journey to become a model world citizen, and in some way complete the duty of a world citizen. But now that I have completed this program, I have come to an important revelation. I have realized that, for as long as I live, I will never fully fulfill the complete duty of a world citizen. I will never reach a point in my life where I can say "I have finished the responsibilities of a human being, and can now retire from the worries of the earth". The only time this will happen is with death. My actions during this voyage may have helped a part of the planet, may have been in accordance to my dream of a world citizen, but it is only one event, one trip, one problem fixed. Just recently I read online about the issues that plague the planet: the growing violence in Egypt and Iraq, the leaks in the Fukishima plant in Japan, distrust between powerful nations. There will always be strife in the world: this is not cynicism, but rather scientific analysis.
The universe is a creation defined by a constant series of entropy and destruction, from the death of stars fueling the birth of new stars, to the never ending competition to survive that is the basis of natural selection and evolution. Humans, however, are the exception to that rule: for all the 15 billion years this Universe has existed, no other being other than sentient life is capable of the creation of a complex civilization and of such unbelievable powerful thinking. And humanity is the only sentient species on Earth, and as far as we know, the entirety of the Universe. We have the power to reverse the destructive nature of the Universe, of bringing order to the chaos, of not allowing our fellow human to succumb to the cruel tendencies of fate and instead forge our own path. My world citizen is not a goal, an end product, but rather a philosophy, a state of mind, that of accepting ones position as a single part of a grand civilization, of pursuing ones own hopes and dreams, while at the same time working to assure the well being and survival of all other humans and of the planet. Granted, this is a daunting task for any single person alone, impossible really. But I'm not alone in this, as I realized in this trip.
All over the world, a new breed of human beings is coming to light. They are above the antiquated divisions that have been established in the past: borders, race, ethnicity, religion, all those fade into the background so that everyone can be helped. Each day their numbers grow, and their ranks are filled from all parts of society, from every generation, from every country. Don't believe me? In a few weeks, I will go to school, alongside other males and females, with people from the Middle East, India, China, South America, Europe, Africa, will study with Catholics, Mormons, and Atheists, live side by side with both straights and homosexuals, learning together about what we can do for the planet, preparing for that day where we will all inherit the world, with all the good and the bad. A few centuries ago, a few decades ago, hell, even a few years ago this scene would have seemed impossible. But it is happening, and people are coming together like never before. Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean. That quote, by Ryunosuke Satoro, is commonly used by United Planet, and fits perfectly with my ideals. Some cynics may believe that humans are the root of all that is evil in the world. Me? I believe we are the most powerful force of hope and change to have ever existed since the Big Bang itself.
This trip would have been impossible without the support of a multitude of people. I would like to thank my family especially, for all the support they have given me since the very beginning. I would like to thank my Mother, Claudia, for helping me with organization and preparation, and assuring that, as I was busy with school, all the requirements for the trip were met. I would like to thank my Father, Pedro, for all of the tips and support that helped me get through the hardest parts of the trip, and constantly reminding me of my dream. I would also like to thank Regina, my sister, for her undying support for this trip, and always challenging me to do my best.
I would like to thank all those who donated to help me fund my program. Without your help, it would have been impossible for me to have gone on this trip, and for that, I am eternally thankful, and will always consider you all great friends.
I would like to thank my teachers, both form FAIS, Gilkey, and ISB, for giving me the education I needed to develop my mind and philosophical perspective, helping me expand my horizons to the entire world, and giving me my love for learning and curious nature. I would especially like to thank Amy Schuff: since I started High School in ISB, you have helped me get introduced to the system, and have helped me greatly in my social studies/ history classes. Your help as my Extended Essay and CAS coordinator has been invaluable, and I thank you for all your support and patience as I continue preparing for the future.
I would like to thank my DnD group, because I totally believe that it was through DnD that I learned how to speak much more comfortably with other people, and thus was capable of forming much easier friendships with the other volunteers.
Finally, and most important of all, I would like to thank you, the readers, for following me throughout my trip. Knowing that, as I worked to make the world better, people supported me and wished me the best of luck, I was able to continue with my work, never once giving up or faltering. It is because of you that I was able to see this program to the end, and I will never forget your support.
Today, one chapter of my life comes to an end. But it is far from the final chapter, as new opportunities will arise in the future, new adventures, new stories. As I continue to follow my dream of becoming a doctor, the lessons and revelations I gained from this trip will support me for the rest of my life. I have proved to myself that I can bring hope into the world, and now that I have, I will never stop.
All of you, Thank You! Remain compassionate to others, stay true to your beliefs, hold onto hope, and the world will become great!
Just a kid with a dream,
Diego Molina
Your blog is so inspiring! Is there a way I could contact you to ask you a few specific questions?
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