Integration Paper 2
Charles R. Wang
Father Kevin

The Grand Lever

Everyone has a different purpose in life, and yet everything coexists so well that makes the world go around (Week 1 QQC, Dr. Brown: “what gives purpose and meaning to our lives”). Sure, it may go around, but definitely not smoothly. With all the differences everyone has there is bound to be collision and competition. Those two things lead to difficulty and negative events happening. Racism and discrimination are two things out of many others that are proof that our world isn’t perfect. But if everyone does their part, we may just be able to make the world a slightly better place. This leads me to talk about what I’m made for. During my childhood, I would go through phases of different career ideas that I wanted to pursue. In the beginning, like every other boy’s dream, I wanted to become a professional athlete. My physical statistics and my athletic accomplishments allowed me to believe that I would be able to pursue an athletic career. I played on the Jr. NBA team in China, I was athlete of the year since sophomore year of my high school, I won tournaments region-wide. These things made me believe that I was capable of competing at the highest level. But as I stepped out of my bubble and looked around, I wasn’t good enough. I wasn’t near good enough and I was constantly told by my parents that I wasn’t good enough, and for once, they weren’t lying. I then wanted to become a lawyer, but that was only because I wanted to watch the TV series “suits”. Then I wanted to become a cook, but then I realized culinary school was one of the most competitive environments of the entire world, and that the chef path wasn’t one that really intrigued me anymore. (Week 2 QQC, Searching for Self-Knowledge)
As you can tell, all of the careers that I just previously am one that are glamorous and overachieving. But now, I just want to help other people. As basic and generic as that sounds I want to go into consulting and just solve problems. (Week 3 QQC, Self-focus) Sure, consulting may not be as interesting as a chef, basketball player or a lawyer, but a consultant can still make an impact on the world too. Being a consultant is only the first career that I want, as it composes of helping people and solving problems. And I feel like if I just do my part in helping solve crucial problems, and helping people at the same time, what else can I wish for? (Week 4 QQC, Searching for Life-Giving Relationships) In my head all along, even when I was growing up, I realized that if I could help or make an impact on one human being, that is good enough for me. I hope I could impact more than just one, but imagine the change the world would have with just one life changed. In which I think consulting would be the perfect job for me. I would be able to make differences in businesses, businesses that make impacts on many others. My parents didn’t raise me to not make an impact, but they also didn’t pressure me to make the biggest impacts on the world. I was always raised on the thoughts that if you can change one person’s life, you have done your job. Because if that person who you made an impact on makes an impact on someone else, then the impact boundaries are limitless. 
But all of what I am made for, relates back to what I am made of. My lever to move the world all come back to my family. Three distinct different groups of my family. These three are honestly the people I would die for, these people are those who shaped me to become who I am today, changed me for the better, made me who I am. And these three groups are correspondingly: my parents, my brother, and my grandparents. Of course, my parents are one of these groups because, first of all they made me and also shaped me as they were the ones who were always by my side continuously. Throughout every stage of my life, they were there. There are the ones that pay for my tuition, that want me to really succeed the most. They are the fundamentals of my life, they were the ones who punished me when I did the wrong things, they were the ones who rewarded me when I did great things. And they will forever be one of the most important people in my life as I continue to be a fraction of who they are today. Then there is my brother. Due to the 6-year age difference between him and I, he was practically the definition of what a brother may be, but he was also a role model, someone I could continuously ask for help with and someone who would just help me live through the important portions of my life. As he has previously felt the wrath of my parents during high school and college, he could guide me through my lowest periods of life. Yes, admittedly during high school, I was diagnosed with depression and the anxiety attacks I would get back in the day were rough. And I did keep it to myself for a year, but I eventually opened up to my friends and of course my brother. Then like a brother would do, he guided me to go see therapy, and was always an outlet and input in my daily progress back to who I am today. Then there are my grandparents. (Week 6 QQC)  They are forever my day one, and like I said in my poem of who I am, they are the reason why the world is so grand today. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. This is to the point where I want to get the word grand tatted on me, because it would represent my grandparents and how they make the world so grand. I remember back to a few years ago where I was super against getting tattoos, but now I am willing to go against that just for them. Because I want them to be with me wherever I go, and be able to have their impact with me my entire life as it is everlasting.