Hide and seek by Chayamard

Hide and seek by Chayamard - January 2017 Scholarship Essay

When I returned to Thailand during my summer vacation, I visited the urban slum community to offer a helping hand to the underprivileged children who had been abandoned by the system and sometimes by their families. However, I was more than just a volunteer teacher to those children. I was a friend who was able to connect with them and understand them. I taught them to read and write. I played games with them, laughed with them, and cooked with them. They told me their dreams, their goals, and their passions. In addition to benefitting the children, working to make my hometown a better place has benefited me because I can learn from other people and their experiences. Working with these incredible kids was a tremendously rewarding experience for me. They opened my eyes to small, ordinary things of life- things that are undervalued but have great significance. I am greatly amazed by the intelligence and potential of the children, and they strengthen my resolve to help the underprivileged both at home and abroad.

I am back in my hometown, Bangkok, but I’m standing where my feet have not been before. All that my eyes see are rundown houses, squalid streets, and energetic little kids. One kid raises his hand and says, “Poppy, can we play a game?”

“Sure! Let’s play rapid hide and seek!” I suggest.

I turn around, covering my eyes with my hands as scatterings of little feet sounded around me. Drawing a deep breath, I start the countdown.

"5."
"4."
"3."
"2."
"1."

Ready or not here I come. I open my eyes; I’m standing alone in the same spot knowing that the next step I take will bring me closer to the gems that are waiting to be found. Although I will encounter obstacles along the way, I will keep moving forward because I know that each step I take will bring me closer to new opportunities in life.