Know Yourself
-Obafemi Fadairo, Summer of Service, Jishou, China
This week was…interesting, I guess?
You’d think that being in a completely new country would be the highlight of this week. And it was. But another one of the highlights of this week was when we went to another village in China. We thought that, as a group, it would be a good idea for all of us to talk about what makes us, in an attempt to make us closer as a group.
I’m always down for “feelsy circle,” as DLG likes to call it. However, I don’t often like to dig deep. Fortunately (or unfortunately), during this particular time, everybody decided to be completely honest, and we put a lot out there. I think that it isn’t a stretch to say that everybody had a tear in their eye.
That particular story is very representative of the trip as a hole. I didn’t really expect myself to open up as much as I am right now. But I have so many different people to talk to, so we can talk about anything from feminism to why Kanye is the greatest rapper of all time. I’ve thought about my flaws as a person and I have pushed myself harder than I ever had. I’ve thought about the aspirations that I have, and how I want to transform myself.
Many people say that you know yourself best, but I don’t know if that’s the case. There are many people who know things about me that I don’t know about myself. It sounds cliche to say that I’m finding myself on this trip, so I won’t say that. What I will say is that this trip is helping me to reinforce something that I learned last summer. I believe that many people have probably said this to me, but when a fellow intern said that when my back was up against the wall, I would pull through. And I’m just trying to prove him right. I’ve made many mistakes, but I’m trying to learn from them. Right now, I’m trying to make sure that I leave Jishou with no regrets, and I think that I am on the right path.
I really do want to give a shoutout to all the people on this trip. Inside all of them is something special, from their funny body motions, to the way they laugh, to the way the interactions take place. I want to try to take something from everybody. At the end of this summer, I think that we will be really close. And I will try to make an effort to communicate with everyone even more!
Sincerely,
Femi
P.S. Sorry that I didn’t do a poem this time.
P.P.S. I got a chance to teach the kids about Kanye during class! How sick is that???
P.P.P.S. Jishou University is amazing at Ultimate Frisbee.
P.P.P.P.S. It’s so weird switching from a teacher to a student…I wonder if it will be just as weird to switch back to a student?
P.P.P.P.P.S. This experience is inspiring me to learn another Asian language! #maybekorean
P.P.P.P.P.P.S. Seeing Fast and Furious 7 with many of the teachers and students was easily one of the best moments here in Jishou!
P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S. This has 7 P’s, so I think it’s time to end it.
-Obafemi Fadairo, Summer of Service, Jishou, China
Originally published at blogs.princeton.edu on July 21, 2015.
