Unnatural Thankfulness In Nicaragua

In our book groups we discussed two essays “The Connection Between Strangers” by Miles Goodwin and the essay “The People Who Love You When No One Else Would” by Cecile Gilmer. In my group we said that “no matter how big or small your act of kindness is, it could change someones life” was demonstrated in both essays. In the first essay, “The Connection Between Strangers”, shows this because this little girl walked up to this solider and congratulated him. Little did she know, that the small action had changed the soldier’s life, as he said in the essay, “That girl undoubtedly has no memory of what happened years ago… It doesn't matter why she gave me the magazine. The important thing is she did” (Goodwin 83).

“No human being could have passed a happier childhood than myself. My parents were possessed by the very spirit of kindness and indulgence. We felt that they were not the tyrants to rule our lot according to their caprice, but the agents and creators of all the many delights which we enjoyed. When I mingled with other families I distinctly discerned how peculiarly fortunate my lot was, and gratitude assisted the development of filial love.”

As I grew older, it was impossible to notice that my world was imperfect. In elementary school, all my parent’s problems here hidden; I didn’t understand my family’s economic status. As I grew older and began to ask my parents question about our lifestyle and compared it to the other people around us. This conversation would always end in the same place; because we can't afford it. My high school is composed of economically unstable families, and economically stable families. Seeing that other families were better off than mine, I grew up with the idea that a comfortable life, is a luxurious life. I know that others around

The following week, we spent most of our time in the poorest parts of the city. There we went door-to-door sharing the love of God and had Vacation Bible Schools for the kids. This is when I realized how blessed I truly was. For the first time, I got to see the privations and penury environment that the citizens of Third World countries had to endure. The unpaved streets were covered in trash. Many houses, made of tin sheets, had collapsed on themselves. The people had to share wells, where they drew their parasitic water. Men, women, and children sat on the sides of the roads begging for money, because they were sick, hungry, and needed money for food and proper medication. The site of these atrocious states of living broke my heart, and showed me how blessed I really was for not having to face these problems.

As a young girl growing up in Haiti, I experienced first hand that the path my parents chose for themselves was not the life that I wanted for myself. I was able to relate closely to Richard Rodriguez in “The Achievement Desire” because he faced many struggles that I too faced as a young girl. My parents always pressured me to work hard at school, I was always suppose to have my homework for Monday done by Friday night, which made

When you are planning a holiday, the first thing that comes to mind is the BUDGET – whether it is booze, lip smacking food, cheap flights, comfortable accommodation or simply having fun! Our beautiful earth is abundant with spectacular locations no matter which end you want to go to but if you are planning a pocket friendly holiday, then there are a few locations that will indeed make you happy! London, Paris, New York, Cape Town, Dubai are some amazing and popular global destinations that certainly have the glitz and glamour but at a price! Here I have listed out some holiday favorites if you are planning one so that you spend less but get more.

These films all reinforced how children’s opinions sway through the way in which they are raised. It demonstrated how as children they were clueless as to who was their enemies and why they were. They also revealed how the government has played a significant role within the riots between the cultural diversity.

During the summer after I turned thirteen, I went on a vacation that changed my entire perspective on life. “Americans are so spoiled.” I remember hearing my mother proclaim this numerous times growing up. I would shake my head or roll my eyes every time, since I never quite understood what it meant. Of course, I had nothing to compare it to. I grew up in the suburbs in a middle class family. I never wanted for anything. I heard the stories of my mother and her siblings growing up; they lived in filth, they occasionally skipped meals, all seven kids slept huddled together on concrete floors. I heard those stories as if she was saying, “…I walked a mile to school, uphill both ways…” I never could have imagined the reality of what the stories truly meant until I visited my birthplace, the Philippines, for the first time.

I failed a chemistry class, even with tutoring, meetings with the teachers, and at home tutoring from my roommate who was attending EWU as a Biology/Chemistry major. The disaster of that course, diminished my thinly restored confidence and I fled. I took up an opportunity to become an expat and live in Lebanon. The first summer I was there, I witnessed the war between Palestine and Israel, only a country away. The impact my experiences changed how I viewed privilege and what I had taken for granted back home. I felt ashamed at what I had so readily given up in self-pity and comparatively meager issues. Thus, after teaching English for a year and traveling, the profound realization of how imperative my education was towards helping the world become a better place sank in. I wanted to go farther than I ever had but this time I was going to do it right. My life became an awareness of the worlds pain, its need, and my insuppressible desire to solve it. I moved back to Chewelah after nearly a year and a half in Lebanon, and with a wholly renewed

Seeing a kid who will hold a gun before they hold their first book. Seeing a teenager my age injecting himself with heroin instead of injecting himself with knowledge. Seeing an elderly person who, when looking back at their life, will remember nothing but memories of misery. These things can't be read in a book or seen on a television. The truth is, you will never understand what people are truly going through until the day you look at them in the eyes. With members of my team, I worked tirelessly to build a home for a man named Serafin who no longer had a roof to live under in the slum. It was both the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, and the most rewarding. Serafin now had a home where he and his family could live in, and I had a new set of eyes to look at the world through. Later that day, I experienced what life was on the other side of the spectrum. Ironically enough, hours after being in Ciudad Bolivar, I found myself at a family wedding in one of Colombia's most luxurious country clubs. Most people were wearing articles of clothing and accessories that individually were worth more than everything a person in Ciudad Bolivar would own in their

As the son of impoverished Mexican immigrants, I never experienced the luxuries and everyday joys of other children my age. For instance, while other children worried about missing their favorite television shows, I spent a majority of my time concerned about whether my parents would be home in time to say goodnight, or if we would have enough money to buy groceries. With that being said, although my childhood was not ideal, I am contempt because those experiences are responsible for molding me into the person I am today. Somewhere along the road, witnessing my parents make endless sacrifices and watching those around me suffer through hard times, I was instilled with an undying urge to help others.

Back in 2014 and 2015, the school I used to attend in the Dominican Republic organized trips to orphanages in Haiti. 80 percent of the 32 000 orphans across the 760 orphanages have parents who want them, but they are not able to support their children. The organized trips were crucial in forming me as a caring and loving person. Before, I wouldn’t have been able to imagine how heart-breaking watching these starving, cheerless children would be. I always visualized kids as playful, blissful, and joyful creatures. However, looking at the Haitian orphans I realized how cruel reality can be to people. It was the first time I’ve faced such conditions, and I strongly rejected the fact who there are people in the world that may deserve even a little part of it.

On one sunny day, I was helping my mom doing chores when she pulled me over to talk to me about something important. I was confused why my mom would want to me about something important, but I listened to what she said and followed her. What she told me was what her life was like back in Vietnam. She did not have much of an education. Instead, she stayed home with her mom to sell Vietnamese yogurt every day for a living. Since I was born in America, I never thought of life was like for others in developing countries like Vietnam. Hearing from my mom's experience, it stuck with me. I learned the importance of being grateful for what I have since they are a lot of people who do not have what we have in America and it made me want to help those who are in need. I was also inspired to do whatever I

In my lifetime, many experiences have changed my character, with the most memorable being the mission trip I took to Parmelee, South Dakota. This endeavor showed me how to be caring and love everyone, despite their circumstances. Although it took time, I learned to show kindness to everyone and not just the people I feel comfortable around. During my missions work, one child revealed to me how to be compassionate to people who may not deserve it, and to give to other unconditionally.

Media has grown to be accepted as a very important teaching tool and is even being used with that exact purpose, education. As Henry A. Giroux said about animated films, “I soon found that for my children, and I suspect for many others, these films possess at least as much cultural authority and legitimacy for teaching roles, values, and ideals as more traditional sites of learning…” But what we see now is this ‘teaching tool’ schooling the public about school itself.