Mohammed AlDajani

21W.011 Essay #1, Version #1

Sunday, February 15th, 2015
Prof. Andrea Walsh
The Voyage to Consciousness
He is an extraordinary man, my mother tells us, hes 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 cant! 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

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 friends
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

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 Rushdis 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 didnt 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.

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 thatthepropermethodof
livingispayingforward.Nomatterhowsmallofacontribution, wheneveranyone
acquirescertainknowledgeorabilities,heorsheshouldpassitdowntothosearound.
Idon'tthankEdisoneverytimeIturnonthelights,butit'sthefactthatheandother
scientistspassedontheirdiscoveriestoothersthatimprovedlifequality.It'stheir
inputthatmadepeopleascomfortableastheyaretoday.
Reflectingonmyownlife,Imusttakeadvantageofallmycapabilitiesto
influencemysurroundingsandleaveafootprintinmycommunityasmygrandfather
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.