1. I.S. 98 Bay Academy

“I accept Reality and dare not question it,

Materialism first and last imbuing” (Song Of Myself, 23)

This point in my life I rarely doubted the things I was taught in school. From subject to subject I believed every line of text I read and every word that came from the mouth of my teachers. I had little need for critical thinking and was an adolescent obsessed with toys, video games and sneakers. The system had me in its vices and it would be a few more years till I broke free.

2. Midwood High School

” Therefore, O Sariputra, it is because of his non-attainmentness that a Bodhisattva, through having relied on the

Perfection of Wisdom, dwells without thought-coverings. In the absence of thought-coverings he has not been

made to tremble, he has overcome what can upset, and in the end he attains to Nirvana.” (The Heart Sutra)

At this stage in my life I was finally able to see the world as it really was. My “thought-coverings” were almost entirely removed due to the literature that I read and the topics that I studied and I was able to gather a better understanding of my life and the world around me. My interest in politics, history and culture came about here and allowed me greater insight into humanity.

3. Baruch College

“Walt Whitman, a kosmos, of Manhattan the son,

Turbulent, fleshy, sensual, eating, drinking and breeding,

No sentimentalist, no stander above men and women or apart from them,

No more modest than immodest” (Song Of Myself, 24)

Whitman does a good job of describing my current place in life. I know who I am and what I am and know what I want to study and what I want to delve into in the future. Baruch has allowed me the opportunity to make meaningful connections and study elaborate topics of interest to me. My place in this world for now is concrete and my academic career close to an end. What waits for me on this path is a mystery but one I will happily indulge in, eyes wide open.