A Different Outlook In My Life

In the chapter “Kant” Alberto makes Sophie put on a pair of red glasses. As she puts them on and her perspective changes. At first, everything becomes either pink or red but stays exactly the same as it was before. There is one thing in my life that really stands out that allows me to have a different perspective on things.

As I have mentioned before, I did not grow up in the States. My parents were missionaries for fifteen years and I grew up in a country called Kazakhstan. Shortly before my parents moved to Kazakhstan, it had just broken apart from the former Soviet Union. When they heard about this new country that had been formed, they were very intrigued. Following that, they moved (with my three older sisters) and began to settle down in Kazakhstan. A few years later I was born and lived there until I was twelve years old. Looking back on it now, sometimes it seems like it was a completely different life I had back then. Kazakhstan was a beautiful place; I had a view of the mountains in every house we owned. The culture was very different. The locals there loved to have people over and do things for them out of the kindness of their hearts. When you live somewhere for twelve years, it will always have a place in your heart.

It’s been four years since I’ve been in Kazakhstan, and I have found America to be very different. There are things that happen here that most people don’t notice because they’ve grown up with it. America is a very materialistic country. Though I myself enjoy material things, I grew up in a place where it wasn’t unusual to see many people who didn’t have anything. Growing up in a country that had many unfortunate people and seeing how my parents reached out to them really opened my eyes to the world. It’s easy to see the world differently when you have lived in more than one place and have been able to experience things that no one else has. Often when I find myself in a difficult situation, I am able to think about the times in Kazakhstan where I would visit special needs orphanages and see children that really could not do anything about the situation they were in. It gives me hope that I will be able to get through the situation I am in and allows me to look at the positive that may come out of the situation. Along with that, when thinking about my future, I know that somehow I want to do something to help others. Either missions work or a medical field; even a teaching position.

Overall, the experience that I had growing up in a third culture country has had an impact on my life. It has definitely changed my perspective on things in life and made me the person I am today. There is not a day that I do not think of Kazakhstan and how it has changed my life forever.