By Molly Alter ’12, Staff Writer

Dream

“If you love something set it free.” I was 14 years old, an innocent girl from New Jersey with perfect features and a beautiful home. Yet something was missing. There was a hole deep inside me, waiting to be filled. I needed to be…inspired. That’s when I decided to go on a trip to Dubai. I knew that people were suffering there. So many helpless children, not enough people to help.

I worked two hours a day building hot tubs for the children of Dubai. The rest of my time I spent immersing myself in the rich culture the forgotten city had to offer. I took sunset trips to the spa. Long walks to go clubbing, flooded with moonlight. It was all part of my effort to fully immerse myself in this wonderful yet complex culture.

As my work at the Ritz Carlton progressed, I met a girl named Hikmat. Her beautiful name means “wisdom” in Arabic. Funny, because wisdom is exactly what she gave me. As I was testing the temperature of the hot tub, I suddenly felt a snap in my ankle. I was pretty sure it was a contusion. I was crying on the floor, wondering why my life was so miserable. It was a moment of intense spirituality for me. That was when Hikmat hobbled up to me, holding something in her hand. She opened her small hand and I saw that a single pill was inside.

“Ad-vil,” I read.

“This must be an ancient herbal remedy” I thought to myself, thankful that Hikmat had brought it. As I requested the pill I realized, I wasn’t asking for the Ad-vil, I was asking for hope. A single tear slipped down my soft pink cheek.

What I learned from my adventure abroad was something that I now carry with my every day: a friend in need is a friend indeed.

The reason I want to attend your esteemed university is because of my intense passion for service. My polo (not water) team even once organized a horse show with all the proceeds going to middle aged women in need of cosmetic surgery of the chest. As a wise friend once told me, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

And these were not my only service missions. I volunteered at the Short Hills Mall, helping to start a new parking system so that people with exceptionally large cars aren’t discriminated against in the parking lot.

One day I want to start a service mission that serves not the 1%, who have been given so much already, but the .001%, who are still desperately in need. I hope that you’ll consider me for your school and remember something that I too have learned: when you give back, you’re not just giving back to others, you’re giving back to yourself, so really, you’re not giving at all, and that’s the greatest gift there is.