Let's Pluck Together - William Diep

Imagine that you were placed in a random, dark room with 20 other people that are your age but you don’t know them. Then, a week passes and everyone knows each like neighbors. This is the exact scenario I would use to describe my experience studying abroad in South Africa. Every participant brought their own personality and contributed to a welcoming, comfortable environment for everyone. Picture this: an athlete, a public speaker, an artist, a businessperson, and a cook all in one space and cohesively blending and conversing with each other. Despite our differences, we all enjoy our service project in helping out a local primary school.

During our first physical day in our service project, we literally “plucked the weeds” out together. Some of us helped form the design of the food forest and the rest of us helped pick weeds out from the previous garden (me!). Every weed I picked and every dirt particle in my eye equaled one more opportunity for a better school. The fact that my hands were covered in dirt even though I wore gloves truly shows our desire to make this project successful. This emphasizes how our program was truly able to bring different students together and appreciate each other. Personally for me, I’m the only Asian-American in this program but I haven’t let my difference in identity dictate the enjoyment I was able to get. I chose to bring out other parts of my culture into the group as well, not just an Asian-American. Being a New Yorker, I was able to relate with others about their experiences in New York. But I was also able to talk with students across the country about our different lifestyles and that has also been very enjoyable. Because of this program, I was able to find my New York identity and appreciate my Asian-American culture. Meeting new people of all backgrounds has brought new experiences that I will never forget.