I Am Alive, By Allison Harpel

I, Allison Harpel, am intensely aware that all of my actions –no matter how seemingly insignificant- precipitate a chain of reactions that extends ad infinitum. While we, as humans, often lose sight of the aftereffects of our attitude, demeanor, and actions after a certain point, they are present and pertinent. Therefore, it is important that we try to make the consequences of our existance positive. In my time that I am alive, I want my net impact on the world around me to be overwhelmingly beneficial. Thus, serving those around me is a task that is deeply ingrained into my identity. I genuinely love people, and I want the quality of their lives to increase.
There is a human bias that predisposes us to make decisions that help those immediately
I began to put forth a greater effort to brighten the lives of those around me: to help when they needed me, to always have kind words on hand, to put my full effort into anything I did, to make sure the people around me had food if they needed it, to make the children who I knew wouldn’t get any gifts over the holidays a gift or so to open. This, however, only directly affected those in the communities that I was involved in, like those I saw at school or those that participated in the same extra-curricular activities. To more effectively help those in my community I began to seek out programs to help or become involved in that helped more people than I could alone. I’ve helped serve food to those at the homeless shelter in a nearby town, fed and played games with the children at the summer food program, donated a few pints of blood, and much more. However, my ultimate favorite program to work with is a tutoring program that is run by several local churches for elementary school students. I’ve worked with the after-school program for the past two years, and I’ve found that it does not only provide free educational help in a community where schooling is one of the few ways to get out of poverty, but also teaches the students how to work together, how to have integrity, and form healthy relationships. Having the privilege to see a
However, humans share the same basic needs wherever we exist. My love and care towards others will hopefully never decrease, but grow as my knowledge and understanding grows. Besides, to help a community one must ensure that a community exists. Positive socialization ensures a community based upon cooperation, not competition. Through cooperative efforts each individual’s impact is increased beyond that which one may make. I am ecstatic to be able to be a part of a community that has so many opportunities for serving not only the people in their immediate surroundings, but to reach further and impact the global community. Upon my arrival I will likely become involved in organizations either on campus or in Terre Haute. I have already been anticipating working with the Rose-Hulman chapter of Engineers without Borders. However, if there are currently organizations that do not exist to aid the community in ways that are necessary, they can be created. I can be the one who changes things, because while I may not have much in the way of fiscal resources, I have my hands, my knowledge, and a heavy dose of will power. I have often thought about how human identity is so deeply connected to our capacity to change our surroundings. I have decided to be one of the humans that changes the world I live in for the