All Things Nga

  After reading “The Blue Sweater” by Jacqueline Novogratz, I wanted to learn more about who she was like and to, essentially, put a face to her name. Thus, I decided to watch “Balancing Humility with Audacity”, an interview she had at her alma mater a year ago. Throughout the interview, I noticed how poised and confident she was as she spoke. She was a great storyteller; each response was backed up by a story full of emotion and meaning. I felt engaged the entire time as her experiences were great lessons I could reflect upon. Below are some points that stuck out to me the most: Near the start of the interview, Novogratz talks about John Gardner, a professor she met at Stanford who later became her mentor. She recounts how Gardner once said, “You have to be focused on being interested, not interesting.” This quote made me pause the video and reflect on the underlying meaning. Instead of doing things for the sake of others or extrinsic benefits, do things that make you happy and fu...

My little brother rides the school bus home every day.  The bus drops him off a few blocks away from our house, and my dad usually goes over and walks him back home. The drop-off times are quite inconsistent—sometimes it's around 2:40 p.m., and other times it's closer to 3:00 p.m. or even 3:15 p.m. This makes it difficult for my dad to time his arrival at the bus stop. Unless he waits there for the full 30 minutes, he risks missing my brother’s arrival. There have been times when the bus would drop my brother off early and my dad was not there to pick him up due to other errands. Cold, hungry, and tired from school, my brother would often cross the street and sprint home alone, no matter my dad’s repeated reminders to simply wait for him at the bus stop.  As I’m away for college and can’t do much to help my dad out, I often worry whenever this happens. What if my little brother isn’t careful and there’s an oncoming car? Or what if he does wait for my dad to come and stands the...