2.
Three days before I got on a plane to go across the country for six weeks I quit milk cold-turkey. I had gone to the chiropractor to get a general check up. I knew I had scoliosis and other problems; however, I learned that because of my excessive, to say the least, intake of milk my body had developed a hormone imbalance. I decided it would be best for my health to completely stop drinking milk and avoid dairy when possible. Little did I know, this was only the start of a summer of change; three days later I got on a plane to attend the Minority Introduction To Engineering and Science (MITES) program in Massachusetts.
I assumed that most of the people were going to be unhealthily competitive because of my past experiences. I thought I would keep to myself, do my work, and come back no different. Living in a building with 80 people I’ve never met in a place I’ve never been while making a significant life style change was not easy. The first few days were not kind: I got mild stomach ulcers, it was awkward, and I felt out of place. That first Thursday night however, all of that started to change. On Thursday evenings we had “Family Meetings” and on this particular Thursday part of our Machine Learning class was working together when the time came to go to the dining hall for whatever this “Family Meeting” was. Honestly we dreaded it at first, “I have work to do” was the most common phrase. We learned that “Family Meeting” was a safe space for us to talk about anything and everything. Today’s theme was, “what’s something important about your identity that makes you unique?” but the conversation quickly evolved into so much more. People spoke about losing family members, being shunned at home, not feeling comfortable in their own skin, and more. So many people opened up about incredibly personal things, I felt honored to be given that trust. The room was somber and warm with empathy as the meeting concluded. Out of my peripheral vision I saw Izzy, one of my Machine Learning classmates, rushing back to the conference room. I realized something was not right. Instinctively, I followed her back to where we were working. Izzy sat down and immediately broke down, the rest of us filed in as she started to talk about what was wrong. It felt as though an ambulance was sitting on my chest, my breaths were short and stingy. I was afraid; afraid my support wouldn’t be good enough, afraid to show that I cared, afraid they didn’t care for me. In this one moment all my insecurities, some I didn’t even know I had, came to the surface. The heavy silence of hushed sobbing was broken by an outpouring of support and a hug. We all started sharing what we’re going through and even some of our past trauma. Slowly that weight is lifted off my chest. I feel comfortable, I feel wanted, I feel safe.
This is the first time I truly felt confident, empowered, and loved. I am surrounded by people smarter than me and I don’t feel any lesser because of it. I have become the true Francisco, or Cisco as they call me. I now, at all times, am unapologetically myself. The difference is night and day. As the program progressed I only felt more comfortable and safe, enough so to even go up and speak at a family meeting. These people, this family, treated me right. I gained priceless confidence, social skills, self-worth, empathetic ability, and mental fortitude to take with me and grow on for the rest of my life. Through all of this somehow cutting out the biggest part of my diet became the least impactful part of my summer.
点评：
Francisco的文书《我上飞机前三天》描述了他参与麻省理工学院的少数族裔工程与科学入门 (MITES) 项目的经历，这也是他内省之旅的背景。
故事从一个看似微不足道的决定开始——出于健康原因放弃喝牛奶——但很快就变成了改变生活的事件的隐喻。
这篇文书巧妙地利用了这种内在的转变，安排了一个夏天，从根本上改变了Francisco对自己和与他人互动的看法。
他一开始对 MITES 项目感到紧张，因为他预计这是一个竞争非常激烈的环境，会让他感到更加孤独。
他在项目初期遇到的身体和心理困难——例如轻微的胃溃疡和强烈的疏离感——加剧了这种担忧。
但在该计划每周举行的“家庭会议”上，故事发生了戏剧性的转折。
会议旨在鼓励成员之间坦诚对话和支持。此时，Francisco经历了重大转变。
一次会议的主题是“你的身份中有什么重要的东西让你与众不同？”，后来逐渐演变成越来越详细、亲密的揭露，使聚会变成了一个充满同情和脆弱的环境。
Francisco被他的同龄人分享个人问题的坦率所深深感动，这促使他重新考虑他如何对待该计划和他的同龄人。
Francisco 的文书出色地说明了社区和坦诚的对话如何对个人发展产生重大影响。他的经历证明了学习环境中安全空间的价值以及同理心的变革潜力。
文书结束时，Francisco 已经成长为一个人，并承认他现在是“真正的 Francisco”，或者用他朋友的话说是“Cisco”。他强调了这段经历如何让他有信心做真实的自己，并给了他无价的社交技能、自我价值和情感坚韧，这些都将在他的一生中用到。
官方小程序
官方公众号
官方微博
百家号
