Mohammed AlDajani21W.011 Essay #1, Version #1Sunday, February 15th, 2015Prof. Andrea Walsh

The Voyage to Consciousness

“He is an extraordinary man,” my mother tells us, “he’s been to hell and back!”

Imagine leaving your home in fear of your life believing you will only be gone

for a couple of days, but end up moving forever to a foreign country. I sure can’t! But

these are the kinds of stories I hear about my grandfather, Saleem AlBaradie. When

he was 16 years old, he and his family of 16 migrated from Palestine to Syria due to

the instability caused by the invasion. They packed just enough for a couple of days,

planning to return to their home, but never had the chance to. Instead, The family of

16 all lived and slept in one room, used the single bathroom meant for all residents in

the apartment building.

With such a history in the family, I always heard these stories of poverty and

suffering my grandfather went through until they got engraved in my mind. I also

heard of the efforts he had to endure to provide the future that he did for his family.

He was forced into labor at such a young age. He worked while being enrolled in one

of the Syrian public schools. It was so far away that he had to leave at 4 am every

morning and walk to his school, in the scorching heat, blistering cold, or terrible rain,

to reach there on time.

After completing high school and graduating from college with a degree in the

Arabic language, my grandfather moved to Saudi Arabia to work as an Arabic teacher

searching for economic stability, not only for himself, but also his family. After a year

of work, he managed to buy an actual home for his family back in Syria instead of the

room they occupied. Around a year after that, he got married. By the time he had six

children, one would assume that he had completed all his goals, but he actually went

1

back to school, this time to study English! After his graduation, he earned the job of

becoming the director of the Translation Department at the Saudi National Guard.

Even after retirement, he continues to work as a director of a clinic due to a friend’s

request. Until today, he still provides for his family back in Syria.

That being said, with the combination of individuals I have been influenced by

and the cultures I have experienced, whether it was Palestinian, American, Syrian,

Jordanian, or Saudi Arabian, I was able to identify the hardships of life at a young

age. However, born in more blessed circumstances away from war and poverty, I have

never actually understood what these “hardships” truly meant.

That was not until a the wake up call I had a few years ago, when I went on a

week trip with Habitat for Humanity to a village in Jordan called Taibah. Habitat for

Humanity is an international, non-governmental, organization with the vision of

creating a world where everyone has a decent place to live.

I was assigned to a team of nine people with some friends to help build a home

for one of the families there. Before going, all I could think of was how this would

make a great vacation trip with my friends. It is customary with Arabs that they

provide us, as guests in their village, with the most luxurious accommodation they

could afford.

When we got there though, the team was housed in the basement of an

abandoned courthouse. Everything was old and dusty. Our “beds”, which were just

linens on the floor, were crawling with bugs. Keeping in mind that these

accommodations were the best the people could offer, our mood completely changed.

Witnessing the conditions the people of the village had to withstand made us realize

the seriousness of the situation. We were forced out of “vacation mode” and were all

driven by pure intent to help. With not much of sleep, we began work the morning

2

after.

We were able to meet the family that we were helping: Abu Rushdi (meaning

father of Rushdi. It is customary with Arabs to nickname as such), his wife, and his

three children ranging between 5-12 years old. Seeing the look on Abu Rushdi’s face,

the appreciation he showed, made it worth it all. We were also able to visit them in

their “home”, if you can call it that. They used cloths as curtains and doors for the

rooms. They didn’t even have an indoor bathroom. Even with all this, they still

offered us some juice to drink. This only intensified our motivation to work more

efficiently. Within the week, we had a lot of fun spending time with our “new

family”. We were able to set the skeletal structure of the home with most of the walls

of the interior rooms set up. All that was left was the roof. Unfortunately though, we

had to leave as our time was up. I will never forget the efforts the family put to make

sure that we remained as comfortable as possible when it was us who were supposed

to do that with them.

Caption: Group photo at the construction site with the Habitat team and Abu Rushdi.

3

By the end of the trip, I finally comprehended what the hardships of life truly

meant. I finally comprehended why my parents shared those stories about my

grandfather and what I was supposed get out of them. I finally comprehended the

responsibility I had to give back to those around me as my grandfather gave back to

his family and his community. I have truly come to believe that the proper method of

living is “paying forward.” No matter how small of a contribution, whenever anyone

acquires certain knowledge or abilities, he or she should pass it down to those around.

I don't thank Edison every time I turn on the lights, but it's the fact that he and other

scientists passed on their discoveries to others that improved life quality. It's their

input that made people as comfortable as they are today.

Reflecting on my own life, I must take advantage of all my capabilities to

influence my surroundings and leave a footprint in my community as my grandfather

has. The most effective solution I have found for most, and that I have been raised to

seek, is education. Without the proper education, my grandfather would have never

been able to overcome the obstacle of poverty. Through maintaining a high level

education, there are no limits on what can be achieved.

Whether I decide on taking the premed track or not during my undergraduate

studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) or not, my aim in life is to

develop human life by impacting the society. Therefore, my main interests thus far,

which I believe are the way to a brighter future, are in the fields of energy and

medicine. Whatever I end up choosing, I aim to dedicate my career and future works

to applying what I learn into these two fields.

“Mens et manus” – mind and hand are truly words to live by.

4