EDITOR'S NOTE: Each year the Staples Rotary Club offers the opportunity to Staples Motley High School students to enter the Four-Way Test Essay Contest. The students write on a topic of their choice, but use the Rotary Four-Way Test to analyze their position. The test asks the questions: 1) Is it the truth? 2) Is it fair to all concerned? 3) Will it build good will and better friendships? and 4) Will it be beneficial to all concerned? This year Celeste Harlow won first place in the local contest. Her essay was sent on to district competition.

The room was spinning around me with unfamiliar sights, sounds and smells. As I sat in my new neighborhood's McDonalds, I was overwhelmed by the crowd of people that looked nothing like me, or anyone I had ever seen. My mind whirled from the languages being spoken around me that sounded nothing like English, nearly inhuman. Even the ordinary hamburger and french fries I was consuming tasted different and made my stomach twist. For the first months after moving to Chicago from a small town in rural Minnesota, this experience was not uncommon.

I grew up in a town where diversity was unheard of, as there were only one thousand of us in residence. When I was ten, my parents informed my brother and me we were moving to Chicago because my father was returning to school. I was terrified to be put out of my shell and wanted anything other than stepping out of my comfort zone. I was convinced moving to such a large city would be the end of my family.

It did not take long for me to realized that the city was just the beginning of our opportunities and growth. I attended an elementary school in a neighborhood which was home to people that spoke over forty languages. Many of my classmates were the children of immigrants from India, Slovakia, Korea, and countless other nations. These children grew up together and I saw the way they accepted each other regardless of their differences. In fact, through my school and the many opportunities for knowledge that arise in a diverse city, I learned these differences can bring people together much more effectively than pull them apart. In fact, these varying characteristics make it possible for one to more fully understand others, as well as themselves. This is a goal worth striving for.

There is no greater truth than that which is found through understanding. Through the knowledge of an attempting to understand other cultures, of both different times and space, a sense of truth is achieved which is incomparable to anything else. When a person comes to recognize this truth, they begin to understand the people in their lives, including themselves. Knowledge of other cultures and beliefs creates an opportunity for growth through raising questions regarding one's beliefs. In doing so, they strengthen their beliefs and take them on as their own. Once this sense of ownership is achieved, it is impossible to avoid truth. This truth is that all members of humanity are exactly that, human, which implies an intrinsic sense of comradery.

With the truth that comes through understanding, fairness is nearly automatic. When we are able to accept the truth that no one is as different from ourselves as we first assume, we are able to treat others fairly and with compassion. If we can begin to understand the cultures and beliefs around us, we begin to understand the people that live in them. When our ignorance is eliminated, so are the barriers we put up between ourselves and those we once did not understand. Through this openness, we treat others with fairness. Truly, there is no way to treat someone in the way they deserve unless we first try to educate ourselves about the things in their life that vary from our own.

When we begin to understand others and treat them with fairness, we are able to build relationships that once would not have existed. If we set aside our differences, we create opportunities to build friendships. In fact, the act of educating ourselves of the world around us creates goodwill in itself. When we take an interest in others, it shows that we care enough about them to step outside of ourselves. When we begin to understand the various levels of someone, we realize that the very differences that once separated us can in fact bring us closer together.

Coming to the truth that we can only build relationships with others through understanding and respect creates benefits for all that are not available through other means. When we create relationships that begin with understanding, we are creating a link between all involved. The benefits of strengthened relations and knowledge are often sought after, but rarely achieved. The only way to achieve these is by acknowledging and appreciating differences. When someone reaches this, they create relationships that benefit all involved.

Looking back at my time in Chicago, I realized that I gained more than I could have ever imagined. The very diversity I feared and which overwhelmed me during my first weeks became precisely what I value most today. If I had not been exposed to other cultures and beliefs, I would not have the sense of truth and acceptance I possess today. The relationships I was able to build were some of the most wonderful I have ever had because I was able to learn from them. I have no shadow of doubt in my mind that this knowledge and awareness I acquired during my time in Chicago will benefit me in the future as well. Striving for knowledge and understanding of the world around us is the only way to recognize truth, equality, and to build lasting relationships centered around good will.