After the coronavirus pandemic, society will have undergone a permanent change in globalization and international cooperation. This change will be beneficial for individual countries, their inhabitants, and the entire world. Due to the global outbreak of COVID-19, all nations had to put forth some effort in order to keep its population as safe as possible. Working towards one goal, many nations quickly found it beneficial to work together in order to find possible solutions to the outbreak in a more efficient manner. Together, various countries worked to discover information about the virus, then utilized the new information to develop a vaccine. Compared to working in isolation, the cooperation of nations led to a quicker vaccine development and administration worldwide. Also, the inclusion of smaller, less developed countries in the fight against COVID-19 has worked to bridge the knowledge gap between more developed and less developed countries as a whole. Interacting with powerful countries has allowed smaller countries to, in turn, acquire knowledge to benefit its inhabitants. The involvement of seemingly all nations in the fight against the virus has established a change in global cooperation. Able to cooperate with each other will benefit the entire world as it fosters an increase in the sharing of ideas, peace, and international unity. Continuing to cooperate with each other, individual countries, as well as the world, will be better prepared to fight future global issues. COVID-19 forced nations to interact with each other, and understanding the benefits of working together will cause the cooperation to continue. Establishing a sense of unity between nations, the world will already be prepared to jointly work to stop future problems such as another pandemic or climate change. The change in international cooperation will also increase globalization altogether. Trusting each other, nations will be more likely to trade, assist, and work with other nations which will benefit individual nation economies and increase all-around world prosperity. The increase in globalization will also allow countries to adopt ideas and technologies of other nations. As less developed countries become more industrialized, their economies will grow which can heed benefits such as better living conditions and healthcare, making less developed countries safer for their inhabitants. Furthermore, globalization will foster the mixing of various cultures from across the world; this will shape the world into a more diverse, accepting place as a whole. From a world perspective, the rise in international cooperation will decrease the likelihood of worldwide violence. The sense of unity established by the outbreak of COVID-19 will make it less likely that conflicts go unresolved between countries and develop into war. Cooperation will prompt countries to make a greater effort to put down international unrest, and attempt to resolve the problem; avoiding war altogether. The outbreak of COVID-19 has led many nations to work together to protect the world from a deadly virus. This has changed our once individualized world into a more cooperative international system. This change has brought about growth to all nations as they bounce ideas off each other and work to help each other achieve goals, such as defeating the coronavirus. International cooperation will increase globalization, fostering an overall increase in industrialization, unity, and world peace; furthermore, better preparing our world to jointly fight future issues.

Being exposed to the personal and outreaching effects of community involvement as a young high school student has shaped me into an all-around better person. The early exposure has also sparked my desire to continue engaging with my community as I grow older and more capable of making a greater impact. Giving back to my community has shown me how fortunate I am to have food, shelter, and clothing. Furthermore, I have learned to never take these ‘normal’ components of everyday life for granted. I believe that community engagement is essential for all to actively participate in as frequently as possible. There are extremely great benefits that are gained immediately, but there are also certain advantages that exist on a deeper level. From an external perspective, being involved with a community is a great way to help a certain area grow for the benefit of everyone living there. Involving oneself with a community not only positively affects the lives of other people, but it also affects the livelihood and demeanor of the person who is involving himself or herself with the community. Moreover, being actively engaged with a community brings growth and opportunity to everyone. On a deeper level, engaging with a community enables the establishment of social connections that may contain benefits that are initially unseen. Interactions with new people allow for ideas and cultures to mix, leading to an all-around better social environment. Furthermore, these interactions foster the growth of new ideas and connections that can perhaps work to benefit the world as a whole. Not only does civic engagement impact the individual lives of the people within a community, spreading positivity and opportunities to everyone, it also contains semantic benefits that accumulate over time and can eventually make an extreme impact on a much larger group. Personally, I have involved myself with various organizations that have connected me to my community and the vast amount of people living in my area. My first opportunity to effectively involve myself with my community was through West End Ministries. This organization’s main goal is to provide food, shelter, and clothing to those in the community who are in need. Here I sort food and clothing and help distribute these necessities to those in need through weekly giveaways. These giveaways are held locally, and participating in these events has exposed me to the harsh realities of life for some people in my community. This not only has humbled me, but it also propels me to do more to impact the lives of others. I am now even more involved with West End Ministries as I help prepare and serve dinner to the less fortunate. Noticing my desire to get further involved in the community, West End Ministries connected me with Hope Truck Food Co., a mobile food truck that works to feed the hungry and connect less fortunate people with a supporting church. The Hope Truck gives away free, freshly cooked meals at different locations all over my community. On the truck, I work as a cook to properly prepare the food being served. Working on the Hope Truck has allowed me to continue directly impacting the lives of others, as well as myself. Through my time with both organizations, I have been exposed to great people who have taught me essential leadership and life skills that I continue to utilize every day, such as expressing a positive spirit and willingness to assist others. I have also learned how my internal desire to help others can be easily materialized through putting forth effort to become involved with my community. Understanding my capability to impact others, I created my own way to involve myself with my community through a self-led water distribution I organized at the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak. I gathered a group of friends in my neighborhood who would help me raise funds to purchase cases of water that would be given to families expressing financial need. Once raising roughly $200, my group and I personally distributed cases of water to many less fortunate families in the surrounding area. Through this effort I involved not only myself, but a group of friends with the community in order to make a positive impact on others’ lives during a time of distress. Engaging with my community has shaped me into a better individual, as I now understand my ability to impact others, in turn, making my community an all-around greater place. Looking ahead, I plan to pursue a career in the medical field as an anesthesiologist, oncologist, or cardiologist. My civic engagement has brought out my love for helping others; this, combined with my interest in the natural sciences has led me towards medicine as my desired career path. As a physician I will impact my community through assisting those with an illness or injury, helping them achieve all around better health. The central focus of the medical field is to heal those who aren’t well, and by healing its individual inhabitants I will, in turn, increase my community’s prosperity. One of the extreme components of the medical field is the ability to save someone's life. Saving a person from dying is a great feat on its own, but from a broader perspective, it empowers the continuous thriving of the entire community. Pursuing a career in the medical field enables me to continue positively impacting the lives of others while making my community a healthier place as a whole.