I Didn't Expect to Find...Myself

by Cecily Cox (United States of America)

I didn't expect to find USA

In 2016, I was a freshman in college, still wet behind the ears, but filled with naivete and eagerness, but still puzzled on what my purpose on this earth was. For the spring semester that year, I took a class entitled Politics of the Civil Rights Movement, which required participating students to spend the entirety of their spring break on a bus trip through the deep South, visiting pivotal and monumental sites of the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement. Initially, I was extremely upset about spending the whole week of my first spring break in college on a school sponsored trip, but I decided to try and make the best of it. The trip began in Little Rock, Arkansas, and was followed by stops in Montgomery, Alabama, Selma, Alabama, Oxford, Mississippi, and Memphis, Tennessee. The focus of these trips were race and racial equality, an issue that continues to principle in the struggle for human rights in America. Traveling to these historic places allowed myself and fellow peers an opportunity to honor those civil rights leaders that paved the way for black individuals like myself. Re-walking the footsteps of Martin Luther King, Jr. Medgar Evers, Viola Liuzzo, and Diane Nash gave me a deep understanding of struggle, pain, and community organizing. Learning the successful organizing ways of the NAACP, SNCC, and SCLC gave me the opportunity to realize that young people like myself, can truly make change in this world if they stand up for what they believe in. After leaving Medgar Evers’ bloodstained driveway, I began to feel frustrated. I felt that same frustration that my black ancestors and leaders who have come before me have felt. Frustration that stems from being judged on everything but the content of your character, or the ability. At that moment I felt tired. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired, but I knew, that my ancestors, especially those who perished would not want me to give up in anguish… they would want me to fight, just like they fought so that I could benefit from the social and educational privileges I receive today. It was at this moment that I knew exactly what my purpose in the world is: I had a moment of clarity that revealed abilities at work beyond my character and ego. I knew from this moment on that I would be doing my slave-descended ancestors a disservice if I did not only continue their work, but expand their work for future generations to come. I knew that my life from this moment on would be spend educating myself and others through travel and real world experiences on our diverse world and caring for its unique inhabits. Life consists of various changes, twists and turns, like a canoe floating down a long river. One cannot know when the rapids will start or when the serenity will come over the water. The only thing we, as humans, can do is enjoy the ride and see where it takes us. These unpredictable waters signify the difficult and irrational parts to life, the parts of life that cause each and every one of us to question how we think and what we do. Through this, we mature and progress into better versions of ourselves. As time passes, life is regularly shifting how we think and causing us to learn new information. It is the people who adjust to this procedure in their life that will prosper; these people, who are open to new ways of thinking, will be able to advance and become intelligent problem solvers. Traveling allows one to acquire this mature, intellectual growth as it enables people to better handle growth and change because it pushes people to learn, unlearn, and relearn information constantly because of the cultural differences. It was my travels throughout the deep south where I found myself. I found who I am, my values, and I’ve discovered my passion and purpose in life: civil rights, and I only hope to share this insightful experience with others and I thank you for your consideration for the World Nomads Scholarship.