I look forward to my first Friday prayer in a Muslim country, prostrating with thousands, shoulder to shoulder, in supplication. In the jostling crowd, I ask in Turkish, “Bayan?” or “Ladies?” trying to find the women’s prayer section. The historic mosque overflows, men diverted toward sweeping balconies usually reserved for women. Bewildered and frustrated, I follow my mother to a woefully small stretch of flagstones, an inadequate makeshift area for the women. On that day, last fall, the utter disregard for a Muslim woman’s spirituality challenged my cultural core, the foundation of my character.

I am an Afghan-American Muslim girl in a post-9/11 world. Since that September day, the politics, media, and community thrust my faith, heritage and me to the frontlines of social scrutiny and distortion. Muslim-Americans held their breath. Yet, my character blossomed from Islam and from America, from Islam in America.

I slip off my shoes and enter our mosque’s prayer hall in Oakland, sunlight glowing on unfurled Persian carpets. Sisters and brothers meditate together, the air sweet with melodious recitations of Qur’an. The treatment of women in the Turkish mosque troubled me because I grew up attending the American mosque in a congregation of coexistence.

My identity inspires me. Society’s prejudice compels me. I begin my journey to learn classical Arabic, to taste the nuances and subtleties of Qur’an, to memorize, cover to cover, as generations past have for centuries. The Qur’an resonates with my sense of justice, my belief that all of humanity is equal in dignity, equal in potential and equal in creation.

I continue parallel studies in American history and literature. Curled up with my latest project, I trace democracy in the amendments of the Constitution, in the civil rights activism of Malcolm X, and in the transcendentalism of Emerson. I focus on alternate perspectives, researching the subjugation of the underprivileged and the twisting of the democratic ideal.

I push beyond the classroom. In founding the Middle East club, I initiate outreach to our community. Sipping chai and nibbling sambousa, students of every heritage bond through
discussion, story, and laughter. Peace and understanding begins with communication and the club provides an opportunity to share the vibrancy of an oft misunderstood and dehumanized culture.

I am an Afghan-American Muslim girl.

American.

I have knelt beside Turkish women in prayer, indignant and disappointed. Yet that moment revealed what I have struggled against all along. I find the Muslim woman’s perspective missing from the global narrative. On that day, she and I crossed paths. My dreams to pursue a law degree and campaign for civil rights met her stories of misrepresentation and mistreatment. I identify with the plight of the slighted Muslim woman from the fusion of my cultural core, defined in my synthesis of history and literature, rhetoric and religion. I aspire to uplift and empower the Muslim woman in all I undertake. We are the fresh chapter of this global narrative.

“Little Willie, get up! Crawl to the front door” My dad frantically screamed, “the house is on fire! The back is caving in!” Afraid and in shock, I stumbled my way to the front door where I met my brother and my dad. We ran outside wearing nothing but underclothes in sub-zero weather in January, 2004. Life has not always been a garden of roses; however, I have proven to be an “over-comer.” I have over-come in all walks of my life: emotionally, familiarly, and academically.

Our house fire was one of the most shocking and earth-shattering events of my life. My brother, who was trapped in the basement, barely survived and was hospitalized for several days following the fire. My dog and best friend, C-Ann, was killed in the fire. Furthermore, I was extremely ridiculed in school for having to wear salvageable clothes which possessed a horrendous odor. The time was even more difficult because I hadn’t seen my mother for two years. My parents divorced in 2002 and soon after, unfortunately, my mother became victim to the use of recreational drugs. I rarely saw her between 2002 and 2006. There were several broken promises and beautifully crafted lies offered. As a result, I built up a defense system and would not allow anyone in. My father’s health began to fail and I, at only ten years old, had to help take care of him. It was obvious to outsiders that I was really struggling with my emotions.

Although, I excelled academically, I wasn’t an ideal student. I attended a community pre-kindergarten and kindergarten school. Impressed with my learning abilities, I was even able to test into the only elementary magnet program in the Flint area. Understanding reading, social studies, and science was never a challenge. It was dealing with the anger and anxiety. I often found myself reclining in the principal’s office because of my behavior and disturbance within the classroom. Excelling academically but failing socially, I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyper-active Disorder and prescribed medicine. I struggled for most of elementary school.

“Willie, you are too gifted to act like this!” scolded my sixth-grade teacher, Mrs. Pinson-Kelley. This was a defining point in my life. I became very close to Mrs. Pinson-Kelley, and she helped me realize that even when life happens, I have to keep on pushing. In this year, I decided to try this God thing Mrs. Kelley and my grandmother always talked about. Undoubtedly, He became my best friend, my confidant, and my rock. I completed my trial sermon as a licensed minister in June of 2006, becoming the youngest minister in Flint. At this point, life started to take a positive turn.

My mother recovered from her drug use, and we were actually able to build a relationship. Dad’s health began to bounce back (although, he would become ill several more times), and I began to make friends and release emotions. I continued to perform well in my sixth grade year and as a result, I was accepted into an International Baccalaureate Candidate school, Whittier Classical Academy. I was on the 4.0 honor roll yearly and remained top of my 137-person class for three consecutive years. I was captain of the track team, baseball team, and team manager for Varsity Football. I had the privilege of serving as president of student government, captain of debate team, and morning announcement reporter.

Recognizing the opportunity for a better education, I applied and was accepted in Genesee Early College (GEC). At GEC, I really had a chance to categorize my strengths, interests, and values. At Genesee Early College, I was no longer surrounded by students who looked like me. The high-school is located on the campus of University of Michigan-Flint. I was certainly encouraged to mature quickly and was challenged to excel in difficult courses including college courses. I was implored to think critically, speak correctly and lead effectively through involvement of several clubs: National Honor Society, Student Government and student ambassador programs.

Due my dad’s severe cardio-thoracic disease and my mother’s rare blood clotting disease, I am deeply interested in the field of medicine. I have aspirations of becoming an Internal Medicine/Pediatric Physician in an underserved population such as my hometown, Flint. Currently, I am an Intern at Hamilton Community Health Clinic shadowing a Physician’s Assistant who sees 30 patients a day. I am immensely fascinated by the process of primary health care. I am enthused to one day serve as a Primary Care Physician.

To achieve this goal, there are several other short and long-term goals I must accomplish. My first short term goal is to gain admittance into University of Michigan. My next short-term goal is to graduate from my high school with gold cords. Looking 3 years down the road, I embark upon my long-term goals. My fist long-term goal is being accepted into University of Michigan Medical School. Attending and successfully completing medical school at the University of Michigan will be one step closer to me becoming a physician.

While, I understand that becoming a physician is not easy, the joy that I will have educating people and helping people on the road to better health is worth it. I want to go into primary care because I want to actually have relationships with my patients. I want to be a physician they can trust and know has their best interest at heart.

Over-coming is not a reality for everyone, but an absolute must for me. I refuse to stop, I refuse to quit. I realize and understand that with the challenges that I faced in my earlier life, a determined attitude and help of God, I can conquer anything. I am most excited that I had overcome through my familial situations and through my academic life. Now, with graduation six months away, my dreams are unfolding more rapidly than ever before and I can humbly begin practicing my signature: “Dr. Willie L. McClure, Jr.”

Carrying an old box brimming with watercolor paintings and pastel drawings, I proceeded carefully to the crafts room in the Alzheimer’s wind of Lytton Garden. I was inspired to become involved in this program at Lytton Gardens by my own grandfather who continued to find solace in his artwork even after a crippling dementia diagnosis. Even though he forgot the names of everyone he knew, he never forgot the smell of charcoal, the sound of paper turning from a drawing pad, or the grip of a charcoal pencil.

After my grandfather’s death, I revisited the drawings that now hang from my aunt’s living room walls, and realized that I wanted to lead an art class because I wanted to encourage others to try something new, while learning about the life of others.

As I try to encourage the residents to try something new with pastels or construction paper I hear murmurs of “I never did art before!” “I don’t do art!” those are the most common excuses I hear from residents who are so afraid to touch construction paper with their paintbrush. “Art is not perfect” became the most common words I would say in the first few weeks of starting the art class.

During the first art session, from the corner of my eye I saw a smiling lady slowly going to the art table. Her youthful eyes looked at the possibilities of using colorful markers. She grabbed a lavender marker and kindly smiled at me and asked, “Can I draw lavender hill? It was where I used to live.” Her drawings became an entry to my weekly trips to lavender hill and her life.

For many weeks I slowly saw her life unfold in front of my eyes. She started to gain confidence in drawing, and trust towards me. She drew her previous home, and her husband in a superman cape, holding the hand of a tiny woman embraced by lavender.

As the weeks went by Doris’ joyous voice did not greet me anymore, her voice was replaced by her squeaky wheel chair rolling to the art table. Instead of dismissing the fact that she was having a difficult time speaking, I suggested to her that she should communicate with me only through her art -work, giving me the opportunity to learn more of who she is.

Her difficulty in talking taught me to become more patient and understanding. By confiding in me, Doris’ artwork became more detailed, expressive, and surprising. She drew herself in a uniform piloting a plane during World War two, suggesting that her contribution impacted people surrounding her. She drew a lot of details of how she long ago helped the other pilots around her, how her courage inspired individuals, and I learned that she is an extraordinary women. Even though Doris lost her ability to speak, she found an opportunity to communicate through art, convincing me that art can truly be non-limiting.

What I had learned about myself is that I can make an impact in the community, that being an artist can bring many benefits to other people, I can bring back a memory of my grandfather and make a positive impact, and I can have the power to encourage others to try something new. I have learned that I have a lot of patience and a love for helping others learn about themselves and bring back a lot of positive memories through art.

The impact that volunteering at Lytton Gardens has on me is that I am able to learn more about other people and that art is powerful enough to bring positivity and color to someone’s life. It makes me realize that even though a lot of people think that art is not important and should be put aside, in reality people can have a lot of fun making a pastel drawing or a collage and they can bring their creative side out.

Volunteering at Lytton Gardens has influenced my plans for the future because I will continue leading the art class and after receiving my bachelor’s degree attend graduate school to study art therapy and begin a career that I will love to continue learning from. In college, I will continue taking numerous art classes, and encourage others to give back to the community. Volunteering has taught me that it is important to contribute to the community because a lot of people need someone to talk to or someone to color with. Community service has taught me to take my skills and inspiration from my grandfather to college and continue to join other organizations to make a difference in my community. I believe that community service has shaped me into becoming a person with a stronger character, and a person who enjoys bringing a smile on people’s faces.

I became a part of this woman’s life and artwork, as her weekly drawings continued to depict the life that she lived. As I had also seen with my grandfather, art can be an incredibly powerful release and an equally powerful medicine.  I believe that my purpose in life is to continue encouraging people to make a watercolor paining or charcoal drawing, I have learned that art can change people’s and my life in different and incredible ways.

To mark the occasion, Templeton Press has also established this scholarship contest. Having a purpose, a calling, a sense of why one was placed on this earth was one of Templeton’s original laws of life. To be a happy and successful person, one must have a purpose.

If you are a high school senior in the U.S., take some time to think about why you are in this world. Create a vision for yourself and the world you want to create.

If you share that vision with us, it could earn you $5,000.

In his book, The Essential Worldwide Laws of Life, Sir John Templeton outlines a basic approach to finding purpose in one’s life.

There is a simple way you can discover your special purpose in life. Draw up a list of all the qualities you value in yourself and that other people admire in you. If you’re a humorous person, you have the ability to uplift and entertain. If clear thinking is your strong suit and you’re skilled at developing ideas, accept this as a gift that can benefit those around you in many ways. Since we sometime think of ourselves as lacking in good qualities, it is important to dig a little to unearth those skills and talents that may lie hidden.

Next, examine the ways in which you interact with other people and make a list of those ways that work the best. Does it excite you to teach someone a skill that will help him? Do you enjoy simply listening while someone shares a problem with you? Are you happiest when organizing a group for a project, or perhaps when encouraging someone who feels hopeless about herself and her life?

Finally, imagine what your world would be like under the best of all possible circumstances. Would it be clean, peaceful, and productive? Form a mental picture of the world that you’d like you and your loved ones to live in, and write down that vision in as much specific detail as possible.

Your mission in life is to have a “why” to live for, to use your best qualities in the service of the kind of world in which you would like to live. That is your purpose. This is what life expects of you. And when you live according to your purpose, setting goals that support that purpose, you may find the pieces of your life drawn together into a strong internal whole. Then, no matter how difficult life’s experiences may prove to be, you will be able to endure and even prevail.

Using the steps described above, consider your purpose. How might you fulfill it in the next five years? What guiding principles and goals will help you live according to your purpose in the next five years and beyond? If you keep your purpose in mind, where do you think you will find yourself in five years?

PLEASE NOTE: This eligibility requirement was updated on July 26, 2012 to allow the class of 2013 to enter. Earlier eligibility requirements stated that the contest was only open to the class of 2012.

To submit written entries, contestants must either send:

• An electronic submission, saved as a Microsoft Word file (.doc or .docx) or a PDF file to tpinfo@templetonpress.org.
• A printed copy to: Laws of Life Contest, Templeton Press, 300 Conshohocken State Road, Suite 550, West Conshohocken, PA 19428

Be sure to include your full name, e-mail address, and graduation year.

Video entries should be two minutes or less in length. Entries must be published to one of the major video hosting sites such as YouTube, Dailymotion, or Vimeo.

To submit video entries, contestants must send a link to tpinfo@templetonpress.org.

Be sure to include your full name, e-mail address, and graduation year.

By entering in either format, you give Templeton Press the right to use your submissions for promotional activities.

• First prize receives a $5,000 scholarship and a session with a professional purpose coach
• Second prize receives a $3,000 scholarship
• Third prize receives a $1,000 scholarship

Video contest:

• First prize receives a $5,000 scholarship and a session with a professional purpose coach
• Second prize receives a $3,000 scholarship
• Third prize receives a $1,000 scholarship