Gratitude: Catalyst 2019

By Swekchha Luitel

Every morning, I wake up with a brand new to-do-lists to check off by the end of the day. Most of the times, I rush out of my bed with not enough time to be thankful for having another beautiful day. I get started with my work even before I sip my morning tea. Honestly, I enjoy the rush and the enthusiasm of doing well in my academics. Being a member of the honor society, we attend every class and give our hundred percent on all of it. However, sometimes we forget that getting good grade is not the only thing where we should give our best at. There are several things around us that need our attention and it is important for us to feel that responsibilities, especially towards the community.

As honor students, it is our responsibility to ask this question to ourselves. How will our education, moreover our GPA, will contribute towards our community? I feel privilege to have such opportunities, and I also do feel glad to be able to come out good even after all the juggling that I do between work, life and college. I’ve a lot to share with my fellow peers. But, I didn’t know where to begin until I joined Phi Theta Kappa which became my voice. I never thought I’d be someone who can influence and inspire others just by sharing my story.

Alpha Theta Phi chapter of LaGuardia Community College, molded a simple girl from Nepal – who was lacking most of her confidence in herself – and put out her story on its Immigration Connect blog, making me feel like I was no longer an outsider. I am sure almost everyone who shared their story on this blog might feel the same way how I feel. I could have never imagined coming this far on my own. Immigrant Connect gave me my voice because my peers and mentors acknowledged my strengths which I was unaware of. My story about my journey from Nepal to the States in our blogs touched so many people. I was amazed to learn that some of my peers were not only able to connect with me, but also find hope just by reading my experiences.

I feel lucky to be part of both the regional and the national conference of PTK as a conference attendee, which helped me step out of my shell. Seeing 3,778 PTK members under one roof helped me realize that I’m now part of a really big family. The conference allowed me to connect with many students throughout the nation. The four Cardinal Principals known as the hallmarks of PTK – scholarship, fellowship, leadership and service – perfectly defines that being an honor student we have other things where we can contribute, even outside our classrooms. Contributing to these principles may not possibly make our gradebook look perfect but it’ll will surely tag along forever with our skills. They’ll serve as the continuous supply of motivation. Moreover, these principles will help us be a better human beings.

I felt very proud and honored when I heard our LaGuardia’s name being called out to receive several awards in front of all the attendees in both the Regional as well as the National conference. It was nerve-wracking, yet PTK spirit motivated me beat on my stage fright and take part in the speech competition. What surprised me most was when I came to know that our chapter was the only chapter who’s every attendees took part in the speech competition among all the New York Region. The regional conference became an unforgettable conference because of the poster board competitions and other workshops. I always wanted to make dog toys and not having a pet was a big reason on missing out on the fun of making one, but I’m glad to get that opportunity from the fellowship event at Syracuse during the Regional conference. I never played laser tag before, but I was happy to know that somehow I managed to survive until the end of the game!

The National Conference at Florida also did not fail to surprise me. Everything about the National Conference was mesmerizing. From the amazing super hero themed stage to very welcoming thousands of attendees, everything was so nice. All the ad forums that we attend was very helpful. The best take-away from the trip for me was learning a life-saving skill – oh yes! The hotel in Florida at which we stayed had a beautiful swimming pool and a water park of its own. I didn’t know how to swim until that day. However, I don’t know what gave me the courage – either it was the ‘Florida weather’ or the sense of freedom that I got by travelling out of New York’s busy and concrete life. I learned how to swim, especially I learned how to paddle while floating in the water. Not only that, but to hear to all the candidates standing for the International Officer team was an experience worth having. Thank you PTK for helping me find my voice, my courage, as a leader and giving the confidence that I need to keep moving forward. With all these experiences, I’m confident that I can not only give back to my society, but also, inspire my peers to do best on what they are doing and discover what they are capable of doing, just like how PTK helped me discover what I was capable of. Because I am proud to call myself PTK and I am glad that PTK is my new Family, my Journey and my Role Model.