Looking Back with Gladness and Looking Forward with Humility
As my summer in India comes to an end I look back on the two months that I have spent here with so much joy. I am so very lucky to have been given the opportunity to do this and it makes me happy to say that I have tried my very best to make the most out of this experience.
Throughout my time in India I’ve felt very humbled and cognizant as I saw some of the most impoverished yet joyous communities. One memory that I will never forget was during a volunteer event at Aram Ghar Home for the Aged. We were involved with a company sponsored event where we delivered groceries and served food to the old and sick who live at the home. To me it sounded like quite a “normal” volunteer event. In fact, I had done many events similar to this one back home in the U.S. But, this event was nothing like any community service event I’ve done before. The level of poverty and destitution was unparalleled any an extremely poignant sight for someone like me who had never seen anything like it. The most resonating moment was when I watched a co-worker feeding a disfigured young man with hundreds of flies circling him as he struggled to sit upright. I quickly learned that my co-worker’s grandpa had been coming to the home to feed this man for years and since the grandpa recently passed away, my co-worker had taken up the responsibility. Honestly, I’ve read about poverty and there are certainly impoverished people even in California. However, this was different. It was humbling but also quite disheartening to see the amount of suffering and destitution and how little one can do to remedy these injustices.
There are plenty of these impactful memories from India that I will never forget. However, one that directly relates to my current situation is the conversations I had with some of the other interns at my company. Many of these interns had already completed graduate school or certainly their undergraduate studies. However, their dream was to have the opportunity to one day have a chance to study or work somewhere outside of India. In particular, they wanted a chance to explore the U.S. When hearing this it really put into perspective the amount of blessings that I have been given growing up and continue to enjoy as a college student. It teaches me that people are quite possibly smarter than me and who work harder than me are dreaming of the opportunities that are simply given to me just because I was born in a certain country. In realizing this, I am much more motivated to not squander the privileges that I have and to use them to make a difference in the lives of people who must fight tooth and nail to have these simple privileges like electricity, education or clean water.
My time in India was my first extended stay away from my home. It has undoubtedly opened my eyes and provided with a far broader global perspective and I am very glad that I decided to take this journey.
