Creating Global Peace- One Teen at a Time

Hi everyone, I'm Emily and I'm a ninth grade student from Coatesville, Pennsylvania. I have received a great opportunity from People to People Ambassador Programs to travel to Japan for two weeks. People to People is a program that goes way back, to President Eisenhower himself in fact. He was a president with a passion for peace; a dream of uniting the world. Since he founded the program in 1956, it strives to follow his dreams and help the next generation discover dreams of their own. This is truly a once in a lifetime chance that one can not easily pass up, especially for me. One of my biggest dreams in life is to travel and feel as if I am part of this world. However, my family doesn't share this love of travelling and even if they did, they don't have the money (my dad has told me if I cannot raise enough money, I can't go on this trip).  In addition, it is extremely hard to get opportunities like this due to where I live. My school district does not have a lot of money due to a recent scandal (our previous superintendent stole money from the district last year), and in turn does not offer many programs like this that encourage students to get out into the world.  

I am especially excited to visit Japan because I love art, particularly drawing in a style called anime (see my profile picture), which originated in Japan. I could not express in words how much it would mean to me if I could learn about my passion from the experts. I am also facinated by Japanese culture and would love to learn more about it. One of the features of this trip is living with a Japanese family for a couple days; going to school with the kids, learning to cook traditional food, and discovering what it's like to fully immerse myself in a whole other country. Needless to say not many people ever get to do this. Another stop on this trip will be Hiroshima, a city once decimated by American bombing in World War 2. Here, I will be able to pay my respects to those who lost their lives by folding a paper crane in their honor. What better way to promote the idea of peace than that?   

Please help me make my dream come true.  Help me become a Student Ambassador and become friends with kids my age who live on the other side of the world.  My generation is next in line to build and protect a global community based on peace and understanding.  This trip brings us closer to achieving such a community.