How do you see the world and why?

Explain what has influenced your world view utilizing evidence from your life

Born and adopted by a loving family, I learned early on the world is full of possibility if given the opportunity. I was born fortunate, given up at the age of two months and given to a family who loved and nurtured me. Given this start, my world felt safe. I accepted much of the rhetoric given to me. I was allowed to dream and often escaped into books, from “Paddington Bear” to “The Littles.” I enjoyed the stories and they fueled my imagination, leading to my first challenge with the world. The deeper I dwelled in imagination, the more I was sent to the nurse to have my hearing checked in school. I preferred to tune in when it suited my schedule. Family and books had framed my first interaction with the world.

I also learned early on to question the world.  My brother inquired much and, as little sisters often do, I soon followed suit, learning to examine what was told and question the actions of others. I soon sent my CCD teacher into dismay due to my constant questioning. Kate Chopin and Edgar Alan Poe continued to influence my investigative dialogue with the world - from traditional roles in society and war, to euthanasia and human nature. However, my safe, optimistic view of the world was not truly infringed upon until I found myself stepping into the aftermath of a war zone in Belfast, Northern Ireland during my sophomore year of college. I understood not everyone had an endless possibility before them unless given the opportunity and support. Sometimes it is hard to move forward with possibility when your challenges are rooted in centuries of conflict, warring governments and poverty. My optimism was further challenged when I moved to Hungary to teach English after college. The Hungarians were a hospitable and proud people, but pessimistic, framed by their recent years under communist rule and history of struggles for quality independence.

Despite the challenges I saw internationally and in my own country and community, my paradigm of a world (now shaded by 3 options: possibility, little possibility, and no possibility) began to shake and merge as I began to learn about perseverance and voice. It was these qualities I began to see in children (my own and others) who reintroduced the possibility that our attitude and effort can help to shape our own reality - there is possibility beyond what is given to us. I have met students who: are first generation students going to college, travel 3-4 hours a day just to attend school, are the sole caretakers of their home putting others before themselves, those who have struggled to digest rhetoric or put pen to paper and then succeed through trial and error, and those who have come from war zones or other trials and still make an effort to come to school. Each year, learning new stories of perseverance and goals have inspired me to continue to share our exigence. This is a world of many paths to possibility. As I watch my 3 year old son and 9 month old daughter begin to make sense of the world and shape their own identities, it is important that I help to make this view one of the possibilities they will encounter in life.