I remember talking to this freshman who wanted to tell me all about her journey throughout high school. She was a diligent and creative student who was pretty lost in life, especially after just entering high school. This freshman was a little socially awkward and just did not know how quickly time could fly by her next few years. She was uninspired, lost motivation easily and had no clear sense between right and wrong. To be honest, she was ignorant and unaware but she was never willing to stop herself from getting educated. Some say she was a doormat for others but really, she was misguided into helping others who didn’t really need her help. This freshman always believed that she had no true purpose in life except to act as the background character in every hero’s story, nothing more. It was not until she started to engage more into community service events that she discovered what to do with that drive.

At first, she took the whole community service idea quite lightly and found it only useful for college applications like most unaware and ignorant students did in her grade. She almost left her community service clubs to see if the tools she had could be better used elsewhere. Through the persuasion of her friends and following her gut feeling to stay, she continued to experience the meaning of her Key Club and its stance on service. She started to notice how people recognized her as someone of importance, a necessity that was not abused and forgotten. This freshman also began to grasp what it meant to be a member of the community and how to give back to others for everything she was blessed to already have. She was fortunate enough to grow up with an education, with an able body, with clothing on her back, with fresh food and water daily, with a whole family that had working jobs with livable income, with friends who accepted her for everything she was, with an internal motivation that sparked her life into action, with chances to make a difference like no one else. Her mind flooded with new beliefs, expectations, realities, hopes, dreams, desires, inspiration and solutions as to who she needed to become with the two working hands and the young voice she possessed. The seed of her thoughts woke from its dormant state, firmly planted its roots, and brought green into a world surrounded by dirt and concrete.

This young woman not only discovered the kind of life she wanted to live but how much she wanted to include others just like her into the same life. She was eager to assist others and give herself a bit of limelight for her good deeds. She ached to show the youth around her how to be motivated to do community service, to do charity work, to be selfless for others of poorer status, to encourage them to rise up against all odds and prove that they were not the stereotypical teenagers that authoritative adults blindly believe. Throughout her journey in Key Club, she became aware, no longer ignorant, and even regained motivation and self-respect by becoming a feminist, an anti-racist, a bisexual ally for the gay community, a growing activist and a struggling artist who wanted to serve others besides herself. This child matured into the young adult she is now, ready for action and waiting for her chance to shine as the hero this time. She wants to change the world more than anything else with her voice, her written work and her artwork. Knowing the future ahead, she reminded me to make sure I never lost sight of who I was and always wanted to be, no matter what obstacles there may be, no matter how many times I would be considered a radical for my beliefs, no matter how many times I am put down or driven to succumb to pressures and opposing forces. She made me promise to never lose sight of where I came from and to never be taken back to who I used to be, and I want to keep that promise I made to her, to myself.

            So hello! My name is Olivia Sy. I am excited to work with my fellow teammates in the EVSS program, and I hope that through our teamwork, we can help change the world with everlasting motivation to drive us.