In this world, there seems to be an ineffable distance between one’s self and the others that surround them, but with Jay, it began to close. The most important year of my life started on a cold September day in 2016, as I embarked upon my first community service project to mentor a local elementary school student. I quickly found myself jogging up the rungs of the aluminum ladder on a playground made for kids like him, thinking to myself “I’m way too old for this.” His squeaky little voice, with an accent more accustomed to the Spanish of his native Mexico, barked at me encouragingly to come up the playscape. Feeling as out of place as ever, I hesitantly obliged, looking forward to the part where I got to go inside and help tutor him on his writing skills. Little did I know, I had already encountered a prodigy in the making.

There, at the round table where his papers were spread out, Jay began to work on his homework, a five paragraph essay. The prompt was simple, “Describe a problem in the world today. How would you solve it?”. I expected the 10 year old in front of me to ask for a starter sentence on how to solve bullying, or something like that, however, he jumped right into a lengthy thesis on why Brexit was harmful for the security of the European Union. My jaw dropped at amazement as I read the opening line,

“In spite of the multitude of complex problems facing the world, at this particular historical juncture, the decision by Britain to leave the European Union, (or Brexit) is by far the most pressing with regards to the future economic viability and mutual prosperity of the entire European continent.”

He wrote with deft fingers and battered eyes, and his prose was just as beautifully structured as his thoughts on Brexit were articulated. He could explain the importance of NATO to world security. He could give his insight to what we ought to be doing with Chinese trade negotiations. He could pitch why globalization is changing the political world today as we know it, and he could do it all at just ten years old. Where did he learn all this from? When I asked him, he replied nonchalantly “I keep up on the news, read Foreign Policy, and Kissinger whenever my parents tell me to, it's not that bad”. Simply put, Jay was a prodigy in international relations. If only I was a little more like him when I was his age. I would later learn that his parents published his own pieces on politics blogs in the hope of his writing gaining traction. This, no doubt, has been the result of the internet, free information, and most importantly, globalization.

In a past that was bound by the restraints of isolated cultures, censored information, and limited travel, solutions were ignored, imperialism persisted, and excessive nationalism plagued the Earth with a scourge of wars. Now, in the present, a new age of globalism is dawning, and Jay, a child immigrant from Mexico in an American public school, with access to the internet, is the perfect example of the future of diplomacy- anyone, anywhere, behind a keyboard, expressing thoughts that can change the world. Jay and I share the same vision.

As my time with Jay turned into weeks and months, and as the seasons changed and the friendship evolved, we learned an astronomical amount together co-writing opinions on the Trump presidency and shifting stage of world affairs. More than that though, we learned about each other’s countries and cultures. The most memorable thing I remember him telling me was when he was living in Mexico, he truly felt he had zero chance of ever doing anything else than working a laborer’s job, no matter how well versed he was. In Mexico, he knew, there was no real opportunity for him to grow into the person he knew he could be. Here, though, he had every tool at his disposal, and he was going to make the most of it, for the betterment of all in the world. Jay’s story was an important lesson I took note of.

As I look back at my time with him, I continually appreciate how teaching, listening, and understanding him has contributed, likewise, to my own understanding of the world. I believe, now, that the world is better when talented minds can come together from across countries to learn. I know, now, that when the walls are torn down and the path is paved for foreigners to come to America, we will reap the rewards of our compassion. And I trust, now, that because of the distance we’re closing as a world, we will bring forth new depths of human cooperation and peace.