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.
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.
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.
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 