Undergraduate /
One particular incident changed me from being self-centered to being sensitive to others. [10]
Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.November 26, 2008, was the stage of one of the most violent terrorist attacks in Mumbai. In India, we remember this infamous day as 26/11, the dates taken to connote the kind of fear and emotions that the events of 9/11 set upon the world.
The Taj, a luxury hotel, was one of several sites attacked by a group of 10 terrorists over the course of three days in Mumbai. My parents were to dine at the Taj but at the last minute changed to another venue. Their restaurant was five minutes away but that the time of the attack they stranded in the dark at the restaurant till early morning, their guest who was staying at the Taj could not go back for clothes or passport and stayed with us until he could arrange a temporary passport to return to Germany. The city was paralyzed and the only news was through bloody images on television and messages from cellphones of those trapped.
Until then, I had lived in a safe environment, unfamiliar with suffering. I lost two of my friends; others lost both parents in the attacks. This opened my eyes to seeing that nothing is ever constant. It made me decide to be more caring and sensitive in my relationships, and appreciate the time I have with a person. I paid more attention to the elderly in my family as they deserved more attention and love, for as children we perceive that they will be with us forever, staying the way they are at the current moment.
The hotel staff was the true heroes of the day. They put their own lives on the line, risking their own lives to hide and feed the guests, who were complete strangers to them. They made me realize the importance of thanking and appreciating those who serve me. The General Manager lost his entire family but put aside his grief and did not leave the hotel until the last guest had been escorted to safety. This incident propelled me to volunteer at my church in a program where underprivileged children are helped with studies and counseled in dealing with abuse. Interacting with these children, I understood why boys who were barely out of their teens would mercilessly seek and kill everyone knowing that they too would be killed. They often came from broken homes or had to deal with fathers who drank and then abused the women and children. The mothers worked through the day to provide for the family and the children were left to their own devices. They were then vulnerable and could be easily brainwashed. By helping them educate themselves, we equip them to differentiate right from wrong and inculcate them with right values. It was my way of trying to cope with the attacks and help prevent any more children fall prey to wrong indoctrination.
As I started becoming more sensitive to the poor, I took part in a School program called Niswarth,
where we went into the famous slums of Dharavi, Mumbai. We saw how children younger than me
went to school and then did the work of an adult to sustain a drunk father and siblings. In the midst
of it all they had a "joie de vivre" which we having everything yet find something to complain about.
Time dims memory but those who experience loss and tragedy are scarred forever. Many have forgotten 26/11, but the scars still remain with us. I was blessed that my parents were not in the hotel and I did not suffer the trauma of losing them.
In the words of Mercedes Lackey in "Fortune's Fool - "We're given a choice in our lives, to make things better, or worse, or merely endure like sheep. I choose to make things better, as much as I can."
