The most important things I’ve learned haven’t been in a classroom” What traveling/volunteering has taught me.

Kelley and her teachers

This is my first blog posting since joining Give Your Gap. So, a big “Hey there” to all my fellow gappers. I wanted to take a minute to explain why I am drawn to give your gap.

Oscar Wilde once said, “Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.” As I work to pay off my sizeable college loans, I don’t quite agree that nothing can be taught but I still like his message. I believe that the most important things I have learned and that motivate and inspire me everyday are not things from school. They are lessons learned the hard (but fun) way…through experience.

One of the most amazing things I have been realizing is that most things we think are extremely normal in our lives are in fact completely culturally biased. No one way of doing something is the right way. I remember once when I was talking to a Korean student when I was teaching ESL. The student said they had had a stomach ache the other day and so pricked their fingers to let some blood out. All the western students in the class and I looked shocked. The Korean student could not figure out what we thought was strange. He explained that in Korea, when people have stomach aches from eating too much food or something, they let a little blood run from their fingers so they feel better. To him this was the best and most normal way to deal with the issue. To us it seemed crazy. Every time I think of this story I am reminded that even the most normal and logical parts of our daily lives are strongly influenced by our culture and the culture we live in. It helps me remember that often no one is right or wrong. They are just speaking different truths.

Another time when I was volunteering at the Mosaic Project, a non-profit outdoor school program that teaches kids about the importance of diversity, peace building skills, and conflict resolution, I volunteered to wrap a gift for someone, sharing that I had been a professional gift wrapper at a store before. One of the staff members jokingly told me, “Never let a non-profit know you have a skill. They will exploit you.” What I learned from this experience was not to hide my skills like my collegue suggested, but rather to remember that I always have something to offer to an organization in need. No matter how little I think I know or can do there is always someone who will benefit immensely from my help. This has inspired me to never stop giving and to never believe I am not talented enough to make a difference.

These and countless other lessons I have learned have only inspired to learn more. I hope everyone has the chance to go out, explore the world, give back, and learn amazing lessons that were never taught in the classroom. I believe Give Your Gap offers people a way to do this and so am extremely thankful and excited to be a part of it.