How do I invest in my future?

Just wrote an essay responding to this question for a scholarship. I don't even know how much the scholarship is for but my mom sent it to me saying, I know you like to write, go for it! So really I just did it for the pleasure of writing something that makes me think.

Here's what I wrote...


(I kind of exaggerated when I said I learned Italian.... but hey I'm not so far from it ;))


My future is their future. My future is hers, and his, and yours. My future is our future. 

Our futures affect each other. How you behave and make decisions affects everyone around you, and the result can be negative, but it can also be positive. Everything is connected. 

So when I ask myself "How do I invest in my future?" I am really asking myself, "How can I invest in my own future so that it positively affects everyone else's?"

For me, investing in everyone means investing in the world and pursuing the discovery of the world's cultures. Disciplines such as Intercultural Communication, Inter-religious Communication, Anthropology, International Relations or Politics, and more, are underrated. With the rising impacts of globalization within the economy, international conflicts, the exchange of cultures and the importance of foreign languages, comprehension between cultures is extremely important. To invest in my future and that of everyone else's in the world, I have undertaken the goal of studying multiple languages (French, Arabic, and Italian) and international relations (politics, anthropology, etc.) to better understand those from different cultures and political contexts than my own. My hope is that in better understanding what I do not initially understand, I can spread my knowledge and help others especially at my age understand.

My inspiration in doing so has recently come from what I've learned about Islam and Arab cultures. This year I spent two weeks in Morocco and have studied North-African culture and its influence in France, particularly Marseille. The abrupt meeting of two cultures, particularly between Islamic and Catholic values, often results in conflict and misunderstanding. Even more recently, after the Boston bombing, for which the culprits ended up being Muslim, I noticed many politically incorrect statements posted on social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter. Several of the comments were confusing the definitions of "Islamic" and "Islamist". There is a big difference. It's things like this that motivate me to study different cultures and languages to better understand current world events, political decisions, cultural differences, and different people in general. I want to understand the difference between two definitions such as "Islamic" and "Islamist," I want to know what the real meaning of alterity (or otherness) and empathy is and perpetuate their relevance, and I want to know how to not make culturally and politically incorrect statements like those on the internet.

In learning foreign languages and studying different cultures and politics, and moreover, becoming linguistically and culturally fluent, you learn so much about yourself and your own culture. It causes you to reflect and question what you thought you always knew. The result is always positive because you grow, you share what you know and are learning and it changes how you look at things. This has been my experience in studying abroad this year, and it has motivated me to deepen my understanding of even more cultures in my future. I will travel more, engage in more international political and cultural contexts, aim to work in international governmental and non-governmental environments, and ideally I would love to teach foreign language in my future. Learning foreign languages is just the beginning of cultural discovery, and one of the most fulfilling in my opinion. I have a passion for the world and I'd love to share it with students through teaching language. But that is just one piece of the puzzle. In the big picture, my investment in my future is all-encompassing of all that is intercultural and with the goal of understanding what I don't understand.

If I can spread my knowledge and the importance of understanding others and what is different, I am doing something good. If I can do that, I am investing in my future, and everyone else's.