This picture does not do the view justice, but I still cannot believe that this was the view I got to wake up to every morning. After almost 3 days of travelling I finally arrived to the amazing community of Pimbiniet where I would be living for the next 2 weeks. After almost 4 years of being involved with Free the Children and dreaming about a trip like this it was incredible to be finally stepping foot into one of the communities Free the Children works so closely with. Seeing the school where I would be working for the next two weeks helping build a school was another amazing opportunity. Finally being able to see one of the pillars Free the Children has been working so hard to install was unreal and something I had only imagined. As we were at the school we met a couple of children from the community. It was incredible to finally be interacting with the children as working with the children was one of the things I was looking forward to the most. Seeing the school was the first part of realizing not only how important education is, but also how grateful us as Canadians should be for the opportunity we are given in regards to education. I know many times I have complained about school, the work, how much it costs, etc. but I began to realize that I am lucky to be able to complain about things like that because it means that I have the opportunity to attend school without barriers.
After months of planning, fundraising and preparing and after years of dreaming about it I finally was able to embark on the trip of a lifetime and travel with Free the Children and Me to We to Kenya.
Prior to leaving many people were asking me why I was going on this trip. Was it because I wanted to say I’ve gone to Kenya? To fulfill my travel bug? To experience a different culture? For me I think it was all that and so much more. It is one thing to go to Kenya on a vacation, go on a safari, and see the glamorized side of the country. But it is another thing to immerse yourself in the side of the country that not everyone gets to see. To interact with the people of the community, experience first hand what they do on a daily basis. To be able to experience the culture first hand is far more valuable than any vacation or safari.
In this social experiment an actor pretends to be a homeless man and instead of asking for money from those walking by he instead attempts to give those same people money. At the beginning of the video he raises a very good question: In today’s society it is socially acceptable for the wealthy to give money to the homeless. Is it socially acceptable because it’s one individual helping another? Or because one individual is better than another?
After watching the video it’s hard to think that it’s socially acceptable because it’s one individual helping another. I feel that majority of people in our society give money to the homeless to make themselves feel better about themselves and make them feel as if they are better than the person they are giving the money to.
I know for myself personally, when I give money to a homeless person it is not so I can make myself feel better or so I can seem like I am better than them, I do it to simply help a fellow human out who is going through a struggling time.
Watching this video I am just disgusted by some of the comments that come out of people’s mouths, especially the guy at the end of the video. I am even slightly disgusted by the one girl in the video who originally said she didn’t have any money but once he offered her the money she had some change to give away.
After you watch this video think to yourself why you give money to the homeless. Is it to simply help someone out or is it because you’re better than that person?
This past September I was forced to transfer schools due to unforeseen circumstances of not getting into my program at the school I was originally attending. As I entered this school I carried the idea in my head that I would just keep my head down, stay focused and get in and out in the two years I planned. That was until I was presented with an amazing opportunity to travel to Kenya on a Me to We trip with the college my university is affiliated with. It has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember to travel with Free the Children and Me to We on a volunteer trip. Although I was not concerned with where, Kenya had always been in my sites. The trip however posed problems not only financially but also in terms of my education as it would be conflicting with a placement I was supposed to be doing. It was becoming a very difficult decision to make. Do I go on the trip of my dreams or do I do as planned and get in and out of school as fast as possible? After a lot of thought and arguing with my family I finally made the decision to go on this trip. I realized that not only is it the trip of my dreams, but also the trip of a lifetime. School will always be there and I am always able to finish certain courses at other times, but an opportunity like this does not come around every day. In 110 days I will be travelling to Kenya to help build a school, learn from the Masai Mammas and to be immersed in an enriching culture. I feel that what I have learned from just making the decision to go on this trip is when opportunity knocks, answer the door. You never know when that same opportunity is going to knock again. There are so many things that seem like they are the most important things in the world; at the time. It’s not until you miss out on something that could have changed your life that you realize some things aren’t as important as they seemed when you first started them.
As I watch the movie Bully for the second time I cannot stop shaking my head at the ignorance shown by so many of the schools that these victims are attending. From sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me to telling a student that they are just as bad as their bully because they refuse to accept an apology for death threats it is clear that our educators are blind to the epidemic that is raging through our school system. Children as young as 8 are taking their own lives because they can no longer deal with torment they face every single day. Eight year olds shouldn’t be considering or even understand the concept of suicide yet. The only things they should be focused on is what they’re going to have for dinner or what game they’re going to play with their friend at recess. One of the girls documented for this documentary was so fed up with the bullying she faced on the school bus that she took her mother’s gun and threatened her tormenters. It wasn’t that she had an intention of murdering anyone; it was that she could not think of any other solution to get her tormenters to stop the bullying. If the fact that a young girl saw no other option to end the bullying she was facing than to pull a gun on her peers is not a sign that our school system is failing in protecting our children from bullying than I don’t know what is. One of the police officers that dealt with the case said how he saw no reason, unless she was being physically harmed, to justify threatening her peers with a gun. I couldn’t help but shake my head at the ignorance that police officer showed in that moment. For those of you who read this I am sure have either been a victim of bullying, been a friend of a victim, have a child who is a victim or perhaps even have been the bully yourself at one point in your life. For myself personally, I was a victim throughout the majority of my primary schooling. I was made fun of for my freckles, for the way I wore my pants, for the fact that I enjoyed reading at recess over playing, and for many more reasons. The bullying I experienced wasn’t contained to just the walls of my school, it was outside at recess and on my way home on the bus. Until you experience bullying first hand I feel that you have no right to say how a person should be feeling or that one’s choice of how they handle the bullying is not justified because they weren’t physically abused. The saying “sticks and stone can break my bones, but words can never hurt me” is the farthest thing from the truth. Hit me with sticks and throw stones at me, leave cuts, bruises and broken bones that will heal in a few days or weeks. But the wounds that never heal are the ones beneath the skin. Words cut deeper than the sharpest of knives and they leave scars that never heal. It is time that our children are able to feel safe in their schools. It is time our educators stop saying “we’ll do something” and they actually start doing something. If bartenders are responsible for the actions of the people they serve, even after they leave the bar, than shouldn’t the bullies be responsible for the children’s actions to harm themselves or take their own lives?
The campaign “We Don’t Do That Here” was founded in Barrie, Ontario. Take the “We Don’t Do That Here” pledge and agree that for 21 days (hopefully longer) you will:
Talk/Social Media POSITIVE about yourself
Talk/Social Media POSITIVE about others
ENCOURAGE others daily
GENTLY remind others who are speaking/social media-ing negative that WE DON’T DO THAT HERE
RESPECT others – no matter who they are
NOT gossiping (includes not listening to it)
If you see a negative post on social media than post “We Don’t Do That Here” in the comments to show people that bullying is not tolerated
Looking back on my mission trip to Cuba I can’t help but smile. Every time I look at the pictures of me with the children I met over there I am reminded of why I love volunteering and why I love working with children.
Majority of children raised in North America are given everything and appreciate nothing. But when you go over to a country like Cuba these children have nothing but appreciate everything. Whenever we would pray for the churches/families we visited I would always get distracted if there were children around. I would walk over to them and give them something as simple as a piece of candy. To see the happiness something like a piece of candy brought them brought so much joy to my heart.
My trip made me so much more appreciative of what I am given in life because when I take a step back and look at it I am truly privileged.
I cannot wait until I am able to go on another volunteer trip and bring the same amount of joy to the kids as they bring to me.
Crowded hallways are the loneliest places for outcasts and rebels Or anyone who just dares to be different
You never fully understand the concept of lonely until people surround you, especially people you love and you still feel like the loneliest person in the room.
And you’ve been trying for so long to find out what your place is But in their narrow minds, there’s no room for anyone who dares to do something different
You don’t fit into that idea of what people think you should do or who they think you should be, then all of a sudden you’re a weirdo or a loser. People have this idea that you have to fit into their thoughts of what’s normal or what’s perfect.
Oh, but listen for a minute
Trust the one who’s been where you are wishing all it was sticks and stones
You need to remember those who were there for you throughout it all. You need to trust in those who stood by you no matter what, but most importantly trust in yourself. When you’re being called names all you do is wish that they could be throwing sticks and stones because it would hurt a lot less.
Those words cut deep but they don’t mean you’re all alone You’re not invisible
Words cut deeper more than anyone knows. Being punched or kicked leaves a bruise, which will deal. But being called stupid, a loser, a whore, stays with you forever. It starts to affect you psychologically which sometimes never heals.
Hear me out, there’s so much more to life than what you’re feeling now Someday you’ll look back on these days and all the pain is gonna be… Invisible
When I look back on what I experienced of course I still remember it, but compared to what I have in life now it seems like just a little dent. As the years come and go the more invisible it becomes.
Oh, invisible
So your confidence is quit To them quiet looks like weakness but you don’t have to fight it Cause you’re strong enough to win without the war
When you’re being bullied sometimes all you want to do is fight back and be a bully yourself, but it is so much harder and takes that much more strength to instead stay quiet and be the bigger person throughout it all. The term don’t fight fire with fire applies here. By not saying anything we come across as weak, but in reality we are the strongest of them all.
Every heart has a rhythm, let yours beat out so loudly That everyone can hear it, yeah, promise you don’t need to hide it anymore Oh, and never be afraid of doing something different Dare to be something more
Don’t be afraid of who you are. Don’t hide the amazing things you can do because you’re afraid of what someone else is going to say. Don’t hide who you are, because when you do that you’re just letting them win.
Trust the one who’s been where you are wishing all it was sticks and stones Those words cut deep but they don’t mean you’re all alone You’re not invisible Hear me out, there’s so much more to life than what you’re feeling now Someday you’ll look back on these days and all the pain is gonna be… Invisible Oh, invisible
These labels that they give you just ’cause they don’t understand
People like to stereotype things they don’t understand. You dress differently and seem a bit different you’re labeled a weirdo, you’re a man who prefers musical theatre to sports you’re labeled gay. We label those who label us as ignorant, but we forget that we don’t understand them just as they don’t understand us.
If you look past this moment, you’ll see you’ve got a friend Waving a flag, for who you are, and all you’re gonna do
If you can look past the pain you’re going through there is someone, somewhere out there who is there for you. Whether they be a family member, friend, celebrity, etc. there is someone out there who understands.
Yeah, here’s to you and here’s to anyone who’s ever felt invisible
Yeah…. You’re not invisible
Hear me out, there’s so much more to life than what you’re feeling now Yeah, someday you’ll look back on these days and all the pain is gonna be… Invisible It’ll be invisible
For 8 years I was a victim of bullying. Throughout my entire public school career I was a victim of bullying. Everything about what I experienced growing up has influenced the person I have become today. Growing up I had one friend, who went to a different school. Do you know what it’s like for people to tell you that no one likes you and that you have no friends, and when you tell them that you do have friends no one believes you? I used to be bullied for having freckles; I was told that my freckles are because I stood against a screen door and had poop thrown at my face and my freckles are what’s left over. Do you know what it’s like to be in grade 1 and hate the way you look? I was bullied for reading a recess, but the only reason I read at recess was because I was being bullied and no one would be my friend. So I was basically bullied for being bullied. It wasn’t until I got into high school where I began to find my group of friends and my place. But what I experienced in public school still affected me deep down. I like to believe that I am a very strong person and because of the bullying I experienced I have become the strong, independent person I am today, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have my moments. Every now and then certain words will start to get to me and they begin to eat away at the strength I have developed over the years. Even the strongest person in the world has their weak points.
I grew up in the era of “stick and stones can break your bones, but names will never hurt you.” Well can I just say how idiotic and false that term is. Yes sticks and stones can break your bones, but words will always hurt you. I tried so many times to tell myself that words can never hurt me, but guess what? Words did hurt me; they hurt me almost everyday for 8 years of my life. Words hurt more than you can ever imagine. Throw a stone at me and you will most likely leave a bruise that will heal in a few weeks; call me a name and you will leave an emotional and psychological scar that will take years to heal, if it even heals at all. Because here’s the problem with the damage that words do, the scars they leave never heal 100% and every now and again something is done or said that rips open that scar again and the healing process has to begin all over again. You never fully recover from the words that have been said to you over the years, you simply attempt to push through the pain and get on with your day.
So yes, when I look back on the situations and bullying I experienced growing up a lot of it is invisible, but the emotional scars it has left behind is not. But as each day comes and goes the pain does begin to disappear and become invisible.
Smiling at someone as you walk past them, helping someone carry their groceries to their car, paying for someone’s morning coffee, it’s the little things that can change a person’s day.
I feel that sometimes we can get so caught up in our own lives and our own busy schedules that we forget to look at the people around us. We can let some of the smallest things, such as dropping your coffee on the floor change our entire attitude/day. But if we just looked at the people around us we would realize that some of our problems aren’t as big as we make them out to be.
The other day was Bell Canada’s annual “Let’s Talk Day.” This campaign is used to raise funds for mental health awareness and funds for mental health initiatives. For every hash tag #BellLetsTalk on Twitter, every share of a Bell Let’s Talk picture on Facebook and every text message/long distance call made on a Bell cell phone 5 cents was donated to mental health initiatives. The last I read there was over 5 million dollars donated to the campaign because of a simple hash tag, share, text and/or call. The whole point of the campaign is to not only to raise awareness but also get rid of the stigma attached to mental illness.
When I saw this picture posted today I couldn’t help but smile at how appropriate the timing was. Molly Burke, a Me to We speaker, was diagnosed with depression due to bullying because she went blind at the age of 14. I myself have been a victim of bullying in the past. Thankfully I never became clinically depressed, but that does not mean I didn’t have moments of depression. My parents are the reason behind my strength, they are the ones who changed my life.
Now what I want you to think about is how you can change the life of someone around you. Maybe it’s through a random act of kindness or maybe it’s just by smiling at someone as you pass them on the street. They don’t have to be someone you know or even like, but you can still change their life. Think about all the people you interact with on a daily basis and think of ways that you can change their lives, and next time you start to get upset because something didn’t go your way try and remember all the people out there who are dealing with something much bigger on a day-to-day basis and they are just waiting for that one person to come around and change their life.
At 98 years of age Nelson Mandela has made an incredible impact on this world. From fighting apartheid to becoming the first African American president of South Africa he has done extraordinary things. It is with a heavy heart in which I write this with. It was a sad day when I heard the news of Nelson Mandela’s passing. The world lost an incredible human being that day. The world mourns this loss now and forever.
Finally being able to see one of the pillars Free the Children has been working so hard to install was unreal and something I had only imagined. As we were at the school we met a couple of children from the community. It was incredible to finally be interacting with the children as working with the children was one of the things I was looking forward to the most. Seeing the school was the first part of realizing not only how important education is, but also how grateful us as Canadians should be for the opportunity we are given in regards to education. I know many times I have complained about school, the work, how much it costs, etc. but I began to realize that I am lucky to be able to complain about things like that because it means that I have the opportunity to attend school without barriers.
Meghan 