The service trip I went on two summers ago was my real first experience with community service outside of the occasional weekly trips to LaSalle Academy and St. Francis Inn. It was a turning point in my interest in service, and encouraged me to increase my commitment. I resumed playing piano for the residents at the Villa and started going to LaSalle more frequently. That led to becoming at CSC officer and finding an activity that I really cared about. That initial experience and all the other service opportunities I’ve had since then have changed the way I look at myself and my future. It has shaped my college search and future career ideas.
Last January, my family and I went on a trip to Israel. The trip changed my perspective on many things. It was the first place I had traveled to that felt one hundred percent different from my home. On other trips, the destination often bore remarkable similarities to home, but Israel was entirely different. Everything about the country felt foreign, but in a good way. It introduced me to a way of life that I had only ever heard and read about. The people I met and the places I visited inspired my desire to see the world and the diversity of life. Additionally, although the trip was in no way a religious pilgrimage, the trip made me think about religion in a new way. Seeing people fall to their knees in front of famous religious sites and artifacts was strange to me, yet it was inspiring to see their passion. I have never really felt strongly about my own religion, but visiting a place divided by religion made me consider my own Catholic faith. While I wouldn’t say the trip strengthened my faith, it did make me stop and think about what I believe in, something I’d never really done before.
My older sister has affected my identity in several ways. As my best friend, she has been consistently supportive of me and has been a source of advice over the past few years as I’ve had to make important decisions. She has taught me a lot about what it truly means to grow up, become an adult, and have responsibilities. Also, seeing her change her major and her plans for the future forced me to look critically at my own ideas for my future. Her choices have shown me that I need to make my own decisions in order to make myself happy.
