Kearstin Bailey Life of the Mind Essay HNR 111 October 3, 2010 Unlike many people in todays world

who know precisely what they want from life and exactly how to get it, I have no clue. I know that I want to make an impact, help change peoples lives, be happy and have peace in my own life. I know that I will never stop learning and will always want to travel. Mostly, though, I know what I do not want. I do not want a life of mediocrity, where I simply settle for what is easy to attain. I do not want to be a clone and be merely content with my life in the suburbs with two children, a wonderful spouse and a steady job. I do not want to be a stereotypical American and shut my eyes to the troubles of the world around me, falsely believing that the evil elsewhere in the world is not important to my life. I want something else, a life filled with substance and meaning. Though I may not know what I want in this life of mine, I know I want a life of the mind. I consider myself to be a very emotional person, constantly swirling with feelings. I believe everyone who truly lives a life of the mind is attuned to their surroundings and the world around them. I notice and take in everything; the people I meet, the ideas I hear, the news I read, the stories I hear, the images I see. And because Im aware of the world and its workings,

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both good and bad, I see it differently than many people around me. When Im happy, Im at the top of the world. When Im upset it almost seems to pulsate through me. When I see injustice my heart breaks for those who are suffering. When Heather Raffo came to speak about womens lives and roles in Iraq my heart hurt; I got goose bumps when she spoke about the bombs going off as a woman was on the phone with her aunt screaming I love you until the very end. As I sat in the theatre with tears in my eyes I looked around at others, and almost none of them seemed to be affected by what they were hearing. I dont understand how other people can be so disconnected from the world. I simply cannot imagine living without all this emotion, how boring everything would be. Sometimes I feel like I am full to bursting with all the feelings inside me. Like when I miss my family and friends back home and almost ache from it. Or when I read in the news about the 400,000 women forced into sexual slavery in Nigeria. Or when I am playing Taboo with other people on my floor and Im so in the moment and I love life so much that I never want the night to end. It makes me sad sometimes to think that other people dont experience life as I do; that they are perhaps too wrapped up in their own world that nothing else matters. I cannot fathom the mind-set that some people have of If it doesnt directly affect me then it must be of no consequence. Are our minds wired differently? Or is it simply a mind-set that we learn as we grow up? I cannot imagine me being me without it, this ability to truly feel.

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Growing up in the wonderful village of Baltimore, Ohio did not always give me much opportunity to explore other cultures. I have found, however, that what I once thought was a hindrance to my education has turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Going to school with people that I have known for my entire life in a class of 128 was not, I will admit, the kind of educational environment I craved. During my high school days I was constantly ridiculed for being that crazy hippy who cares about orphans in Africa. Now that it is all done and over with, though, Im glad I experienced it for it has made me appreciate the wider world around me ever more. Even now, as I come to Heidelberg, I can breathe a sigh of relief that there are other globally minded people here who care about their education and want to make a difference. At the risk of sounding haughty, I will say that the majority of students at Liberty Union High School served to reinforce what I did not want out of life: skipping class to drive around in obscenely large trucks that kill the environment, having parties every night in someones backyard barn, and doing the bare minimum amount of work needed to simply scrape by. I think that going to a high school where so many of my classmates were content and, dare I say, even happy to live their young adult lives like this has made me strive even harder to do my best and not conform to anyones standards. In high school I did this by learning as much as I could and continuing to stand up for the causes I believe in. Now, as I go out into the wider world, I will do this by being globally conscious and remembering that all of humanity is intricately connected.

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From a very young age my parents instilled in me a love of travel. Throughout my life they have stressed to both my brother and I that there is more to the world than just this little bubble of Baltimore. Vacations for my family started out simply as trips to Myrtle Beach and Disney World, but once I began to grow up I yearned to see more of the United States. Our trips changed from average vacation destinations to places quite foreign to a thirteen-year-old me. Weve taken road trips to places like Park City, Utah; Denver, Colorado; Boston, Massachusetts; Washington D.C.; and Massanutten, Virginia. All of these trips have broadened my horizons and reinforced the idea that there is more to life than staying in my hometown. Out west I learned about the awe-inducing power of the mountains, and that feeling you get when you hike and you know that there is something more to life. In Boston and Washington D.C. I experienced city culture and learned more in-depth about our country. In Virginia I learned about the inner strength that I possessed when I very first learned to ski. During all of these trips I also became far closer with my wonderful family, a bond that I cherish even today. Once I found my love of travel I have never turned back. During my junior year of high school I was invited to travel with a special HOBY People to People delegation going to France and England. I went with a group of fifty students from all over the United States who were just as curious and inquisitive as I was. I was in AP US History at the time and seeing all of the historic sights made my textbook come to life. While in France we visited the Sorbonne

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University and had a meeting with a professor there about U.S.-French relations. This moment has been one of the most influential in my life; foreign policy truly became real to me. I began to realize that when I graduate from college I want to be in a position to make an impact on the world and make it a more peaceful place. As previously stated, I am not exactly sure what I want in this life, or where exactly I am headed, but I find this to be helpful for one should never limit themselves as to what they can do. One thing I know for sure is that I will be successful, but not by someone elses standards, by my own. Many people in todays world define success as having the most money, the most possessions, the newest technology, the best job. This is not what I define as success. As a result of my being so attuned to others around me, I strive to make a difference and have an effect on people. Since I live a life of the mind I hope to broaden others perspectives and be influential in their growth as a person. To me, positively influencing others around you is a duty that everyone must hold themselves to. Due to my fantastic family and the emphasis they have placed upon travel and the importance of learning new cultures, I know that in the future I will continue to globetrot and immerse myself in the lifestyle of others in order to gain a more global mindset. Travel brings me happiness, and I feel that being happy should be at the core of everyones being. Though I may not know exactly what I want, I know that whatever path I take will bring me joy.

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