"May God bless you with the discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships--
So that you might live deep within your hearts.
May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, adn exploitation of people and resources--
So that you may work joyfully for justice, equity, and peace.
May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war--
So that you may reach out your hand in comfort, changing pain to joy.
And may God bless you with the foolishness to think that you can make a difference in the world."
Leaving in about two hours for Barren Springs, Virginia for a week during my Spring Break with the Appalachia Volunteer group. See y'all when I get back.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
i miss my friends from home :o(
but i am two days, four classes, two mid terms, one book, one and a half art projects, and some homework away from SPRING BREAK! a.k.a. the next two days will be hellish, but worth it.
i'm going to Barren Springs, Virginia with Appalachia Volunteers of Boston College to live a week with an underprivledged community and help out in a variety of ways. i'm really excited but nervous for the 13-ish hour bus drive, the possibility of not being able to bathe for a week, and that my back will break from sleeping on the floor for seven nights. but the pro's will outweigh the con's i'm 100% positive.
i cant wait to meet new people.
i cant wait to get away from campus.
i cant wait to be to a place ive never been before.
i cant wait to help people in a tangible, real way.
but i do miss my friends and family and kinda wish i was going home next week like a lot of people are, but it'd be silly to miss such a good opportunity such as Appalachia when i know my friends and family will be there for me when i get back, just like theyre always there for me. plus, melissa came up last weekend and my parents are coming up this weekend before i leave, so it'll be A.O.K.
the ALC Ball was gorgeous. it was at the Fairmont Copley. also known as somewhere i could only dream of having my wedding someday. astonishing.
the dj could have been better, the dance floor was kind of scattered even with 800 or so people there. i didnt dance with any guys. but i turned down two ;o) and i danced a lot with just people i knew. i went with my 'BC big sister' who i love.
then melissa came the next night and we sat in my room and it was great, no jokes haha. best friend status 100%.
i also really want to find a better job this summer. i want to keep old navy a couple days a week but do something more real and with less retail bullshit. but i havent stumbled upon anythign yet.
talk to you soon.
love.
but i am two days, four classes, two mid terms, one book, one and a half art projects, and some homework away from SPRING BREAK! a.k.a. the next two days will be hellish, but worth it.
i'm going to Barren Springs, Virginia with Appalachia Volunteers of Boston College to live a week with an underprivledged community and help out in a variety of ways. i'm really excited but nervous for the 13-ish hour bus drive, the possibility of not being able to bathe for a week, and that my back will break from sleeping on the floor for seven nights. but the pro's will outweigh the con's i'm 100% positive.
i cant wait to meet new people.
i cant wait to get away from campus.
i cant wait to be to a place ive never been before.
i cant wait to help people in a tangible, real way.
but i do miss my friends and family and kinda wish i was going home next week like a lot of people are, but it'd be silly to miss such a good opportunity such as Appalachia when i know my friends and family will be there for me when i get back, just like theyre always there for me. plus, melissa came up last weekend and my parents are coming up this weekend before i leave, so it'll be A.O.K.
the ALC Ball was gorgeous. it was at the Fairmont Copley. also known as somewhere i could only dream of having my wedding someday. astonishing.
the dj could have been better, the dance floor was kind of scattered even with 800 or so people there. i didnt dance with any guys. but i turned down two ;o) and i danced a lot with just people i knew. i went with my 'BC big sister' who i love.
then melissa came the next night and we sat in my room and it was great, no jokes haha. best friend status 100%.
i also really want to find a better job this summer. i want to keep old navy a couple days a week but do something more real and with less retail bullshit. but i havent stumbled upon anythign yet.
talk to you soon.
love.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
48 hours and coming back
This past weekend i went on a freshman retreat called 48 Hours to Brewster, MA on the cape. our hotel was immaculate, the accommodations incredible, the view to die for. but the people i met, the things i heard, and the things i shared are incomparable. I did not know any of the 12 other kids in my small group upon going on the retreat, nor did i know any of my 3 roommates, and not many of the 130 or so freshman that made up the entire group. But everyone was really nice, fun, and genuine. my small group was led by Mark Herzlich, who is well known to be the BC football player who Beat Cancer, an inspiration to all and arguably a campus celebrity. But he was so chill. I thought he would be really intimidating. But he was genuinely nice, and easy to open up to. To think that i told some of my deepest thoughts to let myself cry in front of 12 peers and Mark blows my mind. The retreat was highly emotional, sharing stories, listening to seniors talk about their experiences, and reflecting and writing in journals. But it was also really fun. We played the most hilarious games, including Thumper, Hug a Bear, Kiss or Tackle, and Mafia. so fun. i haven't laughed like that and had that much fun with a group of strangers in so long, or ever. The ocean was frozen because we were on the bay side of the Cape; it legit looked like antarctica or something. beautiful. I have a piece of string tied around my wrist from one of the closing activites, which i will not take off until it falls off, as a constant reminder of what i learned about myself, my peers, and my leaders. I guess i don;t want to share much of this specifically, other than there are other people out there feeling the same things i am, and that i need to realize that i'm never alone.
But coming back to campus after this utopian, every one is nice and accepting, no one is going to spill your secrets, everyone is honest, and be a goofball and it'll be okay weekend was much harder than i imagined. not everyone is nice. not everyone is nonjudgemental. it's the truth, and it's sad. needless to say i felt a little lost sunday night, knowing that campus hasnt changed even if i had. but i quickly got over that and just decided i need to surround myself with the people that ARE nice and ARE nonjudgemental. and i now have quite a few more connections of people just like that thanks to 48 hours, my group, my roomies, and my awesome leader.
opportunities surround me, and i need to seize them. amen.
But coming back to campus after this utopian, every one is nice and accepting, no one is going to spill your secrets, everyone is honest, and be a goofball and it'll be okay weekend was much harder than i imagined. not everyone is nice. not everyone is nonjudgemental. it's the truth, and it's sad. needless to say i felt a little lost sunday night, knowing that campus hasnt changed even if i had. but i quickly got over that and just decided i need to surround myself with the people that ARE nice and ARE nonjudgemental. and i now have quite a few more connections of people just like that thanks to 48 hours, my group, my roomies, and my awesome leader.
opportunities surround me, and i need to seize them. amen.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
the human experience
I haven't cried in two months... until tonight.
"The Human Experience," a film by Grassroot Films, just ripped my heart out and put it back together, all in under two hours time. I saw a man, struggling with his homelife, a broken family, and an uncertain identity come to realization that there is hope, there is happiness, and there is faith in God. I saw the homeless people of New York City shed tears when they saw their brothers and sisters find homes for stray dogs, but left them in the cold. I saw innocent children of Peru abandoned at birth, bearing both natural and violence induced deformities overcome their struggles by the kindness of volunteers and the doggedness of medical staff. I saw a Ganian mother and her beautiful baby, with the biggest eyes I have ever seen, both misfortuned with AIDS. I saw an African man with leprosy, estranged by his own kin to live in a foresaken colony with others like him, rotting away exponentially. A homeless New Yorker said why he lives is for the sake of others. A little Peruvian boy with only one limb, a leg which he uses for everything, laughed and played. A leper stated that he liked the community in the Leper Colony, and that they worked together for everything, and that he was happy. A man forgave his unloving father after over ten years of absence.
How could I ever be unhappy, how could I ever want, how could I ever be complacent, when those with struggles astronomically larger than mine could ever be concerned for others, greatful, and even happy?
If you ever, ever get a chance to see this movie, do yourself a favor and see it. I literally laughed, cried, and was inspired by it. It displayed enormous humanity, humilty, and light.
And now I am even more determined to work for the bettering of the world.
"The Human Experience," a film by Grassroot Films, just ripped my heart out and put it back together, all in under two hours time. I saw a man, struggling with his homelife, a broken family, and an uncertain identity come to realization that there is hope, there is happiness, and there is faith in God. I saw the homeless people of New York City shed tears when they saw their brothers and sisters find homes for stray dogs, but left them in the cold. I saw innocent children of Peru abandoned at birth, bearing both natural and violence induced deformities overcome their struggles by the kindness of volunteers and the doggedness of medical staff. I saw a Ganian mother and her beautiful baby, with the biggest eyes I have ever seen, both misfortuned with AIDS. I saw an African man with leprosy, estranged by his own kin to live in a foresaken colony with others like him, rotting away exponentially. A homeless New Yorker said why he lives is for the sake of others. A little Peruvian boy with only one limb, a leg which he uses for everything, laughed and played. A leper stated that he liked the community in the Leper Colony, and that they worked together for everything, and that he was happy. A man forgave his unloving father after over ten years of absence.
How could I ever be unhappy, how could I ever want, how could I ever be complacent, when those with struggles astronomically larger than mine could ever be concerned for others, greatful, and even happy?
If you ever, ever get a chance to see this movie, do yourself a favor and see it. I literally laughed, cried, and was inspired by it. It displayed enormous humanity, humilty, and light.
And now I am even more determined to work for the bettering of the world.
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