A Brief Statement of Purpose.

I don't believe in the idea that one person can change the world. As a kid being raised in the suburbs of Detroit, I never had a chance to meet any celebrities, any of the people whose books I had read or whose faces I had seen on the covers of magazines in the grocery store. No one came to visit the plain, industrial cities that cover the flat surface of the state of Michigan, and- at least it seemed to me- no one ever came from there either. Nelson Mandela was from South Africa, Mother Teresa worked with the poor children of other countries, and everyone important from the United States seemed to either live in California or New York City. I was worlds away from these people, and I learned to live with the fact that I would never be one of them.

While getting my Bachelor's Degree in Michigan's capital city, I took to spending any school break I could abroad. I went as far as my feet and backpack would take me, and I looked for the shadows of the heroes I grew up worshiping. I traveled to Africa, viewing the prison that held Nelson Mandela. I walked through the gravestones of so many revered men and women at Westminster Abbey and saw glimpses of their lives.

I don't believe in the idea that one person can change the world- and I learned that through my travels. I saw the prison that held Nelson Mandela for years, and met many other men who were involved in the same struggle- held in the same prison. I visited friends in Hungary for a month and was welcomed with open arms by the most generous family I've ever met. In all of the countries and cities I traveled to, I learned more and more that it is not the person that makes the difference- it is the community, the people who live their lives day-to-day without the recognition that they deserve.

It was this realization that drives my desire to teach- and learn. I want to meet these people- the ones who aren't on magazine covers- because I think they can teach me much more than any author or professor, and I want to teach English so that we have a greater opportunity to learn from one another. I don't believe that one person can change the world, but I'll never let that stop me from trying.