"Son, do you know how to adjust derailleurs?" Why was this elderly man calling me son? Maybe because he was old enough to be my father just like nearly every other person at the Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange this Saturday morning. Looking beyond the rusted bike before me, I scan the sea of grown ups sporting logo wear from Apple, HP, and Google. The man could have asked any one of them for help, but instead he asked me. "Yeah I can teach you."
When I first started volunteering here during my freshman year, the adults intimidated me. Having never worked side-by-side with adults before,l assumed they knew much more about bicycle repair and deferred to them because it's how I've always learned to view older people. However, I soon discovered that I knew just as much as they did, at times even finding myself teaching my fellow volunteers. I didn't realize before this experience that my opinions, knowledge, and experience counted as much as those of an older person. At the Bicycle Exchange, I wasn't just a kid-l was a peer.
Not only does volunteering at the Bicycle Exchange help me become more confident, it also provides me a place to challenge my analytical and technical skills. A seemingly simple problem like worn brake pads can turn out to be something more subtle and complex,like taut brake cables, misaligned calipers, or a slightly bent rim. What part do I need? What tool should I use? If I don't have the specialized tool in my toolbox, what else can I use? The methodical process of diagnosing a problem and creating a solution appeals to me, especially when it requires that I improvise.
In many ways, troubleshooting bicycle problems is like dealing with the complexities in life. Sometimes you will come across familiar issues that you know how to address but at other times it may be a whole new issue where you need to use your experience and intuition to figure it out In learning and teaching how to fix bikes, I've come to address other areas of my life through the same problem-solving approach I use at the Exchange. For example I struggled with chemistry honors until realizing I had to change specific aspects of my study strategy. It meant taking advantage of my available resources like extra help outside of class and Kahn Academy tutorials online. As long as I look closely enough and make use of my resources, there will almost always be a solution to any challenge.
Through the Bicycle Exchange, I've proved to others and to myself that I am responsible, can handle a challenge, and can help improve people's lives even though I am just one person, and a teenager at that. Furthermore, the Exchange showed me that there are exciting opportunities to combine my personal interests and skills with the talents of a diverse group of individuals to produce something meaningful.
The author is now pursuing a mechanical engineering degree where his essay was submitted.
