Before I started college, I was very nervous about how I was going to fit in. Being a first-generation student meant that I didn’t have many resources to help me learn about college life. The first stanza of the poem resonated with my work ethic in connection to school. Due to my circumstances, I learned to work hard and ask a lot of questions. Thankfully, those two skills have gotten me through the last 3 years of college. As children we are taught that success is a product of hard work, but what they don’t teach us is that some people are born into success. While I may not have had an easy path to my “success”, I have found that having to work for the things I have makes me appreciate them more. I always consider myself one of the lucky ones. The sixth stanza in this poem reminds me of how lucky I feel to have opportunities. To me this part of the poem says that we should not take things for granted because there are others that wish they were in our place.
As we all know, poetry is subjective. This specific poem has a lot of information to digest and not everything is organized perfectly to fit my life. The second and eighth stanzas are the two that relate the most to my internship this summer. To me, the second stanza is trying to say we should be tolerant of others. As well as, being selfish does not benefit the greater cause. Being in D.C. has made me realize that our country is very divided. My internships this summer on capitol hill put me in the middle of the division. I was forced to see both sides of the aisle (literally). The amount of selfish and intolerant people I have seen on capitol hill, showed me how ugly things can get. As a citizen of this country, I plan to do my part in making the U.S. a better country for all of us.
In regard to my future, the third stanza makes me remember that patience is the key. Sometimes I am quick to rush into things, but I have to remind myself that I am young, and I have time. Following that same logic, the fourth stanza tells me that good things come to those who wait. I have a lot of plans for the future, but I am constantly tormented with the idea that I am running out of time. Becoming a lawyer is a lengthy process with many barriers for a person like me but with hard work and patience, I will get there. In addition, I think it is important to be happy with my career. The final stanza is a lesson on happiness, it says that doing something you love will never seem like work. I am very passionate about helping others and specifically my community. So, my hope is that while I continue to help my community, I will always be happy doing my job.
I believe the most important thing I learned throughout my time here, has been that I do not want to be in D.C. at the moment. My happiness resides with seeing the people I help on a daily basis. To work on capitol hill is a great honor and a very important job, but it does not bring me happiness. I was able to meet a lot of individuals who love their jobs on the hill and that brings me comfort. While I may not want to work on capitol hill, there are many other competent people who do. Perhaps in the future I will change my mind and decide to return to the hill. For now, I will be returning to Arizona with an abundance of knowledge, resources, and connections, that will help me achieve my goals.
ASU Capital Scholars 2019 