Reflect on the Saturday work with high school students.

Truth be told, I was mildly nervous about helping these high school students with their college application essays. I didn't even know if I wanted to remember my own college application process, simply that it was arduous, stressful but ultimately rewarding. Yet the feeling of going through it and that of completing it are like opposing extremes. Finally I decided to quit worrying and just go with it. Fortunately Addie was there to back me up. Some mutual support was always welcomed.

The high school student we worked with was of Hispanic origin. A soft and seemingly shy girl. From her stories I could tell that she was seriously stressed out and nervous about this whole process and all the works associated with it. That realization did nothing to lessen my fear of screwing up. I was afraid of saying something that would make her feel even more miserable. Given my critique nature, it might well have happened. We went on to ask her about her college essay. She wanted to write the college essay for VCU, describing her educational goals. She said she wanted to become an ESL teacher. Somehow I already felt a connection with her. Somehow I felt like I knew what I should ask. So we delved deeper into the issue. I asked her the reason for such wish and to recall her childhood. Being an ESL student, she had gone through all the hardships of growing up among foreign people who didn't speak her language. Thus she wanted to become an ESL teacher to help others like her going through the process more smoothly. A noble and admirable goal. It's like what I'm doing at the moment, helping others, especially Asian students with their English. In the end, she looked relieved and told us that she now knew what she wanted to talk about.

In the end, I felt so happy myself. Maybe we didn't really do much to actually help her with the essay, but at least I felt assured that I made her feel easier and motivated to take on this rigorous application process. To kindle hope and inspiration in people, that alone is something worth fighting for.