MANILA, Philippines ? I am your typical 18-year-old Filipina. I party, I shop, I hang out with friends. Most of all, I?m passionate about my country. Thus I try to be a model citizen.

To me, a global citizen is an advocate of a worthy cause, who promotes that cause or pursues that goal, with utmost passion. It is someone who is devoted, dedicated, and willing to take on the responsibility to make the necessary sacrifices for the good of others. A global citizen strives to do more than simply fix things, but rather serves by making a concerted effort to ensure sustainable impact within his or her community.

Odyssean Years

At this point in my life, with graduation around the corner and preparations for my move to another country, for university, and make a new home for myself?I wonder, can I live up to my own multi-layered definition? While I am not sure if I have yet earned this title, I know that at the very least I am on a journey, an odyssey of sorts, with trials yet to be faced, toward becoming a global citizen.

My own journey has been driven by my involvement in service work, with Habitat for Humanity, in my home?the Philippines. Throughout high school I have worked with Habitat, either in a build site during weekends, alongside the future residents of the home we are building, or sorting paperwork and answering calls in the organization?s local office. I had found a cause I could dedicate myself to, and my passion was sparked.

But I could not travel on this journey alone. It?s impossible. For me, and perhaps many other global citizens-in-training, the encouragement and support of family and friends, the residents of the houses we build, fellow volunteers, and my parents have been crucial to me. They are the ones who push me to make the effort needed to make a real impact on the lives of others. One of the most important lessons my parents have passed on is the simple idea of leading by example, by making a commitment to serve others. They have shown us, by their own example, that we must involve ourselves in the world rather than just watch it go by.

My grandmother, perhaps one of the most significant heroes in my life, most clearly embodied my definition of global citizen. She was a powerful female role model for women in my family. And it was through her example and involvement in various charitable institutions that I was first exposed to the world of community service.

Words from the wise

One of the most meaningful lessons my grandmother shared with me at an early age is her belief that everyone in this world is equal and it just so happens that some are more fortunate than others. She said that it was my duty, as one of the more fortunate, to make sure I help others live a life as best and as comfortably as they can. To do this, she told me that I needed to take risks and step out of my comfort zone.

With her as inspiration, I soon found myself as a teenage girl with this enormous dream of changing the world. That summer, I got involved with Habitat for Humanity Philippines with the vision of wanting to make a difference. While at times I often wondered if my small efforts would make the slightest difference to anybody, my grandmother kept reminding me that I needed to start somewhere, and being uncomfortable and unsure was that start.

Stepping out of my car onto a landfill of garbage with bits of bottles piled on top of each other, I realized I had finally awakened to reality after having lived a sheltered and comfortable life. With every drop of sweat, every bruise and every sore, my grandmother?s voice telling me to not give up until I?ve achieved my goal lingered on my mind.

Inspirational home partners

The residents of Habitat for Humanity homes are themselves global citizens. It is from working alongside them?shoveling dirt, hammering nails, painting walls?that has led me to realize first-hand how critical it is for every person to be given equal opportunity in life.

I remember spending almost a month working with Dolores, a single, working mother of six. Despite being swamped with work -- juggling a night shift in a call center and tending to her kids -- she spent her days in the construction site, enduring back-breaking labor to devote the required sweat equity hours toward what will eventually be her own house. She is a modern-day Filipina Wonder Woman, and I really don?t know how she does it, especially with less than three hours of sleep a day.

Although she may never leave the Philippines, Dolores is undoubtedly a global citizen?a woman with a passion to provide for her children and the goal of giving them a better life by building them a home, a safe sanctuary to come back to every day. She wants for them to have a place to study, to play, to sleep, and to live.

Her tireless efforts clearly show how she serves as role model not only for her children but also for all other Habitat residents and volunteers, and for me. Like many of other Habitat for Humanity beneficiaries, Dolores leads her children and her community by example, showing the work and the pride that comes from achieving a dream?of owning a house she could make into a home.

Working as a Habitat volunteer, I have emerged a changed person. My work has allowed me to realize how fortunate I truly am to be able to live in a sturdy house, eat three or more meals a day, and live a life with more than just basic necessities.

There is a Chinese proverb that says, ?To get through the hardest journey we need to take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping.? Along the way, we may stumble, we may get dirty or uncomfortable, and will inevitably get discouraged, but it is a journey every youth?every person?must take.