Loomis: A Personal Experience

When I was just a child the world seems like an endless place, and all the world was to me was my backyard. As I grew, I slowly began to realize that in-fact despite the world’s size, we are all connected somehow and each personal encounter that I experience adds to that connection. This awareness truly began to resonate with me when I transferred to Loomis Chaffee. Upon arriving, I had not truly experienced much of the world besides a few vacations and a few students in my classes that had some immediate background to a foreign country. Andover, Massachusetts a town just outside of Boston, which predominantly is a: Caucasian, wealthy, and close-nit community. Education was highly regarded in Andover, accordingly we did learn a lot about other
Upon arriving I discovered a very diverse place. Kids from all over the world went there and I soon became friends with many of them. To name a few; Win from Thailand became a close friend of mine whom I connected with during our long hours studying science. Then there was Richard and Prosper, two soccer players from Nigeria who loved to come and learn about lacrosse and American culture. These three individuals opened up a whole different world in my eyes. Win was here on orders from his government to receive a degree in Bioengineering, then was to return home to Thailand after completing college, and work for the government. Richard had not seen or talked to his family in over a year and Prosper talked about his life growing up on the streets and how soccer was what saved him. All lives very different from mine, and when I told them about my life I felt somewhat ashamed at the times I complained about walking to school or long practices. This experience enlightened me to different my life was from the rest of the world, but also how connected we
I do not believe people have a choice in the decision of being an active citizen or not, it is something that is forced onto people. I say this from personal experience, as I have matured, I learned more and more about other peoples cultures, met different people, was exposed to more worldwide news, and battled for positions in groups with people from around the world. One simply cannot avoid this unless you go live in the woods with no human contact; if you wish to be an active member in society then you must take these moments head on. So yes, I do believe I am an active global citizen because I read news from around the world, contribute to the global economy by purchasing goods from other countries, and I engage people from multiple countries on a daily basis. Basically I’m saying one does not have to travel to multiple countries and help out in each and everyone in order to be a global citizen, they just need to be active in stay informed on what is happening in the