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Austin Sonnier

Mrs. Krause

English 12

6/10/2014

Prompt: Describe the world you come from for example, your family,
community or school and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams
and aspirations.

During the summer after my sophomore year, I journeyed thousands of miles over the
Continental United states and hundreds of miles across the Caribbean to the Dominican
Republic. A moment of immense change in my life occurred as reality entered my senses like a
valley fallen victim to the flood waters of a broken dam. I saw life, the struggle. Children with
torn cloths stood under patchy, rusted roofs and smiled at me, the foreigner, with pupils like the
sun. I lived with those kids for 14 days. We bunkered down through ferocious tropical storms,
endured deadly temperatures, and hiked miles through garbage dumps in search of recyclable
plastic to trade in for scarce money to buy dinner.

One thing I learned was that back home I was just living. Here, in the Dominican
Republic I was participating in life. Every step taken and move made was calculated in regards

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to safety and efficiency. Learning by doing was the only way to complete the jobs assigned as the
ancient language barrier of Creole stood in my way. In those two weeks, physical queues were
the instruction manual for rebuilding flooded homes in a verdant river valley just south of Puerto
Plata where temperatures hovered around one hundred and the humidity did likewise. Through
the language barrier, a single dad of four children, with no means of income, taught me to create
a volcanic like crater with cement and sand, pour water into the crater, mix until well
homogenized and eventually lay bricks. The language barrier was no match for us.

The Haitian Refugees in the Dominican Republic had very little and I, sadly, had nothing
permanent to give them. The food would only last so long, and the homes I built could be swept
away by a freak storm at any moment. I wanted to give my heart, but all I had was a weeks
worth of food. The popping of my North County San Diegan bubble gave me the life experience
and knowledge that there are children and people everywhere that need perpetual help. I decided
to begin a pursuit to become a Pediatrician. This desire was confirmed as I traveled to El
Salvador the following summer to work at a federal orphanage and I baby sat my four neighbors,
two of whom are still in diapers. Id love to specialize in work with toddlers because I am
blessed with a sixth sense in bonding and communicating with little ones.

To be realistic, I will pair my dreams with my passion and understanding for

Environmental Science. My college major will be based off of my favorite subject, AP

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environmental science. Ill be able to fix the land and heal the people. The road to physicianship
is laborious and challenging so from that moment of decision, I had to step it up academically.
Assertively, I switched schools. My leap of faith paid off as I increased my grade point average
from a 3.83 sophomore year to a 4.20 junior year. The world I come from is giving me the
financial confidence to attend college. I am blessed to have two parents who have served in the
Navy for twenty years when the G.I Bill was passed, allowing me to attend any public college in
California for free. So, although it was the world around me that shaped my dreams and
aspirations, my personal bubble has set me up for a bright future in which to take advantage.