Eric Hui
My Passion for Humanity
I am extremely
fortunate to have been raised by two well-educated, hard-working, loving
parents in the suburbs of
That trip, in 
retrospect,
inspired me in a way I didn’t quite realize until I was more mature. The insight
I gained from my trip has played a vital role in helping me determine what my
passions are and what I want to do with my life. I vaguely remember seeing all
the touristy places like Tiananmen Square, the 
we
would be staying that night than which historic or famous attraction I would
visit next. However, the one event from the trip that I remember clearly
involves a beggar and finding a ten Yuan bill. One evening after a long 
day
sightseeing, as I was exiting the tour bus, I saw a bill tumbling in the wind along the vacant sidewalk.
Being the first one to spot the loose money, I chased the bill down and in a swift
motion stepped on the bill and claimed it for myself. “Finders keepers, losers 
weepers,”
I exclaimed to my uninterested family. As I walked with my family to the restaurant,
ten Yuan bill in hand, I spoke excitedly about my plans to purchase a souvenir
later that evening. Meanwhile, we passed by a beggar who then began to follow
me and insist that I give her the ten Yuan bill. Being the twelve-year-old that
I 
was, I
grasped the bill even tighter and hastened to my father’s side for his
protection. In retrospect, I did not give the beggar the ten Yuan I found
because I was frightened by her unkempt appearance and her desperate actions.
So startled by the events associated with the ten Yuan bill, I ended up
dropping the bill into a Red Cross Donation box at the restaurant we ate at and
hoped to forget about the experience.
This, however, was
not the case. My encounter with the beggar was my first up-close experience with
poverty. Until then, I did not realize how much inequality exists in the world
today and how blessed I am to have been born in to a financially stable family.
As a child, my parents made a conscious effort to shelter me from the bad
things in life. They told me never to talk to or make eye contact with homeless
people on the street, and that if I did not want to end up poor and jobless, I
had to study hard in school to get a good job. Now that I am in college, my
parents have high expectations for me and hope to see some return on their
investment after I graduate college, as I am in both the Plan II and Business
Honors Programs. However, my parents also recognize that success is not based solely
on the number of zeros in a salary but, rather on happiness in life, which is
achieved by pursuing one’s passions. Now that I am enrolled in a prestigious
college and on the path to success, I question where my passions lie and how my
experience in
I have discovered
through my experiences that I really want to help make positive 
impacts
on the lives of people less fortunate than me. In my opinion, there is nothing
more rewarding than doing something that brings a smile to someone’s face. In
high school, I volunteered for Habitat for 
Humanity
to help build a house for an underprivileged family whose kids attended my high
school. This family’s home was no more than a mile away from mine, yet the
extreme difference in income levels and quality of life struck me as peculiar.
Here was a neighborhood that could only be accessed by a gravel road, where the
young children played next to sewage, and the houses seems like they were about
to fall apart. Needless to say, I labored as long as I could and hammered nails
until my hands went numb. The gratification I got from building the family a
new home and the long-lasting impact my actions will have on the family’s
quality of life is a feeling I will cherish forever. I truly believe that the
pleasure I experienced from dedicating my time and resources was magical; this pleasure
led to a lifelong thirst for a sense of fulfillment associated with acts of kindness.
Although I did not
personally know the family members, I was able to connect with them on an
intimate level because of their genuine gratitude for our efforts. Seeing the
smiles as the kids walked into their modest but new home made me realize how
good I have it. Working on our school’s habitat house also made me realize that
poverty doesn’t just exist in developing countries but is also a problem
plaguing our fellow citizens. Thus, in defining and discovering my passions, I did
not let the desire for material wants hinder my desire to see other people’s
basic needs met. After I helped out at the habitat house, I noticed a change in
my outlook on life. I was no longer materialistic and 
did not
feel an urge to waste money buying things I did not actually need. It was as if
I had “[found my] own truth [and] became free [and] liberated.”[1]
Instead, my interests turned to politics and keeping up with issues affecting
underprivileged people both nationally and globally. I read Time Magazine religiously and checked
CNN.com every afternoon not because I had to, but because I was extremely
interested in current events.
From this interest
in politics, I became extremely active in high school 
debate.
Competing in Lincoln- Douglas debate, I discussed topics that questioned values
and concepts of right and wrong. One topic that I found particularly
interesting dealt with whether or not the 
stable
world. Rather than disregarding less fortunate humans as worthless simply
because they do not have money, I became passionate about personally doing
something to alleviate the inequalities that plague our world today. Coupled
with my quest for satisfaction in life and the desire to be benevolent, I
discovered my life calling to help give selflessly to others. However, this
epiphany did not cause me to immediately drop out of school, pack my bags, and
move to the front lines to solve the problem. Instead, I wanted to be able to
make a monumental impact on the lives of individuals. Tying my interest in
business and finance with my desire to change the world, I decided to go to the
As a Business
Honors major, when I tell people that my passion is to help others, they question
my truthfulness and hint that I’m in the wrong major. However, my interest in
business emerged from my involvement in various student organizations in high
school. I discovered a keen ability to get along with people well and accomplish
tasks efficiently and effectively. With my passion for compassion and my
ability of leadership, my purpose here at the 
the
world. Either through nonprofit business work or through donations of large
sums of money, I hope to express my compassion for humanity in a way that would
make my mother proud. As a child, my mother instilled in me values and morals
that taught me to be compassionate towards others. Her demeanor, the way she
carries herself and the way she lives her life, has always inspired me. Throughout
my childhood, my mom did most of the work around the house in addition to holding
a full-time job. Whenever I did not understand something or felt frustrated
with someone, my mother was always there to drop everything she was doing and
help me solve my problems, even though she had her own things to worry about. My
mother has inspired me to embrace a social responsibility to show compassion to
others and help make the world a better place to live in through her selfless
example.
Majoring
in business and being surrounded by countless future businessmen who want to
become successful and make an absurd amount of money has been challenging. Countless
times, I have felt like an invisible minority in my quest to alleviate social
inequalities. I hope to either donate my fortunes to a good cause or to
directly apply my learned business skills to the frontline. During the Honors
Business Association campout this semester, as we were getting to know each
other, we casually began discussing our life goals and dream jobs. Many people
talked about being a high-paid executive of a successful company. Others
mentioned that they wanted to be in a band or a manager of a band. Still others
talked about owning fashion lines or being 
successful
in general. Throughout the discussion, everyone was receptive to each other’s dreams.
However, after I shared my dreams with the group, there was nothing but silence.
I had told the group that I wanted to be a philanthropist one day and live a
modest life. Everyone was stunned. I explained that I want to just “follow [my]
bliss” and know that “the life [I ought] to be living is the one [I will end
up] living.”[2] One person
even questioned, “Don’t you want a Porsche and a huge house?” and surprisingly,
the answer is no. To me, that is living beyond my needs, and I do not need
those things. I do not need overpriced cars and clothing to make myself happy.
In reading my classmates’ passion papers, I have discovered that I am not alone in my passion for compassion. Now, I better understand why I am both a Plan II and Business Honors major: I share the analytical drive of my business peers, yet I am also extremely compassionate like my fellow Plan II students. This discovery is not only personally relieving but inspiring. With so many individuals who desire to make the world a better place, we can celebrate a victory for the world to know that humanity is in good hands. Whether it be through medicine, the arts, social work, or like myself, business, it is pleasantly surprising to know that Plan II students really wish to make a positive impact on the world. I know that on my own, I can only contribute so much, but together, with my peers, I am certain that suffering in the world will decrease.
My outlook on life
is to always be happy, and I feel I can be happy in life if I pursue my true
passion for helping others. Though the details of how I will pursue my passion are
a mystery, I am 
satisfied
for now about having determined what my passion is. At UT, I am remembering to
be the “mystery itself [so that I] will be happy, every day, and all kinds of
wonderful happenings will come up for me.”[3]
This is only my first year as an independent college student; I still have a
lot of self-discovery and soul-searching to do. I have an idea of what I want
to do with my life and how I want to follow my passion, but I am still finding
out who I am each day. My pilgrimage has only begun, and I am excited to
discover where it will take me.
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Word Count (without quotes): 2,137
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