The molding of a global perspective

From the ripe age of two, I have been exposed to worlds far different from my own. It all started with a trip to India. l, barely walking, was whisked off to the land of my ancestors to be showcased to family and friends who had missed my birth. Then it was Singapore at six; my brother and I had our faces pasted to the glass walls that separated us from the mystical creatures at the marine theme park.

By the time we were rounding the Coliseum in Italy these world voyages had begun to feel like a family tradition. Whether it was glimpsing glaciers in Oslo, viewing coral reefs in Australia, or beholding temples in Cambodia, you could always find the Rao family away from the Americas on every extended holiday.

Yet it was not just the breathtaking sites and sounds but the unforgettable experiences we had in these places that have molded me. It was in Thailand that I appreciated true familial love as we spent agonizing hours searching for my lost cousin. And it was on the musty boulevards of Bombay that I got my first look at uncensored poverty.

Each time I return from these global adventures, I try to incorporate these new perspectives into my own. For me, thriftiness came naturally after seeing the value of money in India, while I attribute my perseverance to watching students work tirelessly in Peru. With one place at a time, one culture at a time, I hope to new viewpoints with old, to become more culturally aware and less hindered by bias. I hope to be shaped not by one world but by many.