A First Statement

Life really is remarkable.

I hit a point recently in my life-- A point where I can look back at my life for the first time in my life and honestly learn something from it.

College really is an experience. I'm almost finished and I feel that I am a completely different from when I started.

I recently returned from Honduras. Me, along with a few other MTSU students, wrote a chldren's musical called "A Better Way", and performed it at different elementary schools and orphanages in and near the city of Comayagua. The children were wonderful; they were well-disciplined, sweet as could be, and incredibly appreciative of everything they had. The majority of the children that we came into contact with were terribly poor and many were not even sure where their next meal would come from, or if they were even to get one at all. The most interesting part, however, is how happy these people were. They didn't have much, some not even a single family member to lean on, yet most were so so happy.

Now that I am back and the witness of many petty arguments and petty spending on unneccessary things, I realize how ridiculously well off most of us are here in the States. Personally, I have the best family and friends in the world, great health, and not a single true worry other than school and work stuff-- things that are incomparable to living to survive.

We met a little old lady in the village of Cane there named Clementina. She is about 80 years old and has dedicated her whole life to the children. She was a professor for many many years. She noticed that many of the children in her classes were falling asleep. She realized the reason was because they weren't getting fed properly, resulting in the children not having any energy to focus on their studies. Clementina decided to start a "Soup Kitchen" in the village in which she, along with her own personal money, accepted donations and provided the children with at least one meal a day. Many years later, Clementina is now retired and the soup kitchen has lost most of its funding. She has been using much of her own retirement pension to buy food for the kitchen, but we all know retirement is not nearly enough. When we arrived in Cane last week, the soup kitchen refrigerator was completely empty and the stove had broken. While we were there, we gave her money to purchase a stove and filled her fridge full of food for the children.

The generosity and dedication that Clementina had was truly inspirational to me. She is a gift to this Earth, and if we had more Clementinas, this world would be a better place.

The point is-- Don't take your life forgranted. You have so much to be thankful for. We life in a "wanting" society--Constantly wanting what we don't have and wanting more than we do. Enough is never enough.

I am planning on going back to Honduras within the next year or so to teach English/do volunteer work at Enlaces, an elementary school in Comayagua. Hermes, the principal and my friend, will provide housing and food, along with monthly pay. I think it is a great opportunity for me, and after being there once, I've realized it is definitely my turn to give back and do more.