The Power of Choice

Almost every single action we take, emotion we express, and word we say, is a choice. We choose how to live our lives and nobody else has the power to make that choice for us. At times, it may seem impossible to choose, or as if your life is being dictated by someone else, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. Over the past two weeks, the realizations I've had and the lessons I've learned have helped me to expand my knowledge of the world and the life that I would like to live. Many of the children at L.O.A.M.O. have some of the hardest choices of all. Their choices are similar to choosing between studying for a test that could affect their future, or finding food for themselves and their families because they haven't eaten in days. Those are choices that affect the present moment and impact their physical well-being. These children live in conditions I could hardly fathom, yet they continue to share their glowing smiles spreading happiness and love. These are the choices that make the children some of the most incredible souls I have ever met, and ever will meet. The students at L.O.A.M.O. who live in poverty have come to accept it. Of course, they hope for a better future and work hard to try and reach that, but they have come to peace with their situation and they know that it will not change suddenly. They can either enjoy every moment and find happiness in their life or stop trying and give up. These amazing people choose to be happy, they choose to love unconditionally, and they choose to accept strangers into their home. All of the choices the students make may seem incredibly small, but with the life they live, the choices are actually amazingly, consecutively positive. Meeting these beautiful people have made me look at life differently and for that I will be forever grateful. I now know that I have the power to choose, I am in control of my life and it is completely up to me what I make of it. This experience has taught me that unexpected things will always occur in life, bad things are unavoidable so it is up to you, how you deal with it. You can take an awful thing that has happened to you and learn and grow from it, or it can ruin your life. I will never look at a situation the same again and every time I hope to choose happiness and love. Every single time I will think of these incredibly beautiful children in Tanzania and choose happiness.

Changing the World one Notebook at a Time

Some things are always present in the world, you hear about them on the radio and see them on the T.V., but you believe there is not much you can do about it, so you try to erase it from your mind as much as possible. Poverty is one of those things. It was not until I was driving through Arusha did I realize the extreme conditions that some Tanzanians live in. Even then, I did not learn the severity of them until talking to a boy named Innocent at L.O.A.M.O. school. Innocent is a very bright student in class four. He is one of the hardest workers and always pays attention. I never thought he could be a child who may only have one meal a day, but I soon found out that he was. I was walking around the classroom Friday morning helping kids with their work when Innocent called me over. It took a couple of minutes to figure out what he was trying to tell me, but when I finally understood, I was shocked. Innocent had won a notebook the previous day as a prize for good behavior. He told me that he showed the notebook to his mom and she somehow traded it for food. Because of that one notebook, Innocent and his family were able to eat dinner that night. I don't remember if I said anything after that I just know that I felt an immediate rush of sadness. I didn't understand how I could be so lucky and never have to worry about food a day in my life. Whereas Innocent who is just as capable as I am, lives in extreme poverty and may never get out of it. That thought hit me so hard. I broke down into tears after that and had to excuse myself from the room. My mind was completely blank in those few moments I could hardly comprehend anything. I didn't know what to feel or think or do. I had never had so many emotions running through my head at once. When I could finally put together what had just happened I realized that I should not be crying at all. I should be incredibly happy that I helped his family get food. Even if it was only a little, that is one less night of being hungry. I realized then that I am doing exactly what I came here to do. I am putting all my efforts into helping these children and am hopefully changing their lives in the process. There will always be poverty in the world and people who are less fortunate than I am. I will be saddened by it and that will never go away. However, now I know that I can do something about it, I can give a child a notebook or I can help them solve a math problem. My capabilities are limitless and I will never stop helping and caring about these children. I am changing the world one notebook at a time. "Be the change you wish to see in the world." -Gandhi

Love and Peace

Peace and Love. Love and peace. The two things that bond humans together and make the world a better place. It is possible that peace and love are all we need in life. That we can survive on so little with just these two things. Unfortunately, many people in this world need much more than that, or they think they do. Even I was convinced that to live a fulfilling life it couldn’t be based on two morals. Over the years though, I have realized that if you go back to the simple things and focus on the peace and love, everything else follows. The first day we were in Tanzania, our group took a small tour around Arusha with a man named Rasta John; he was amazing. He was so passionate about everything he was telling us. Rasta John, was proud of Tanzania, proud of what they had overcome as a country and that their history is in the past. He talked about how the Germans enslaved his people, murdered and tortured them, but because of the love they have for one another and life itself, they got passed it and moved on. Then he said this, “We are suffering but that’s okay because we have each other.” This has been replaying in my head ever since I heard it. Of course I know that some people live in rough conditions, I had seen it in Nicaragua and Cambodia. For some reason, though, it surprised me that he said what he did. It almost made it more real for me. The African people don’t forget they live in poverty, of course they can’t because that’s how they live, but they accept it because they know that there is so much more to life than money. They love one another and treat neighbors like family and really, that’s all that matters. I have been in Africa for less than 48 hours and have already seen and heard things that I will remember and live by for the rest of my life. I absolutely love this country. It is a beautiful place and the people make it even more incredible. The love that these children and all the people carry in their hearts will continue to amaze me and shape the person I am becoming and hope to become. Africa and the people of Africa will stay in my heart forever and I will never forget the challenges they face every single day. Because of this experience I will always remember to spread peace and love. “Sometimes the most beautiful places have the greatest hardships.” – Marika Feduschak.

Challenging my Fears and LIfe Changes

Fears- they are something people encounter daily. They can be as small as being afraid of the monster under your bed, or more serious like being afraid of not having anything to eat for your next meal. No matter how big or small, everyone has them. Fear is always present and there’s no way to avoid it. The world is full of fear; it wanders about freely, creeping into our minds, eating at us until we snap. It loves to stay in our brains and remind us of all the hate in the world. There has not been a day in my life where I have not been afraid of something; it is inevitable to avoid fears. I think that the only thing you can do is embrace them. I have so many fears going into this. For starters I am afraid to travel to another continent without my parents, leave my sister for two weeks, and just be away from home. But these are only the minor ones. I am afraid that after seeing the conditions the children live in and go to school in I will freeze and not be able to help them to my full ability. I am afraid I won't know how to react, so in response, I won't do anything. These have always been my fears and I think they always will be as long as I am a part of CGA. I know that I have been able to overcome them in the past, but I can't say the same for the future: those feelings are almost the hardest part. Since I have been able to confront and conquer my fears on past trips, if I do not succeed this time I will feel like an even bigger failure. I just want to make the children feel like they are worth something. That they are important and their capabilities are limitless. I want to show them that they can do anything with their life and are not held to lower expectations. I knew that I had started the next chapter of my life as I entered high school. New school, new friends, new challenges. But I didn't know that starting high school meant I had ended one. I have been ignoring the fact that I am growing up. I love thinking that I could just be a kid forever with no worries and responsibilities. But that is not the reality; I now have to start thinking about my future, like what college I want to go to and eventually what kind of life I would like to live. I rely so much on people around me for emotional, mental, and physical support. I have amazing bonds with my friends and family, they have helped me grow as a person and helped me through every aspect in life. However, I believe that the next step for me is to break out of my comfort zone and become more independent. I believe that traveling to Tanzania will help me do this. Although I believe that teaching will be a huge challenge for me, I will hopefully learn to problem solve on my own with little help from peers, teachers, or chaperones. I know it is important to have special people who are with you every step of the way, but I want to start becoming my own hero, to strive to be better than the best me, to become more confident, and initially be an independent person so that I can truly live my own life and be completely happy. The fundraising deadline is a little more than a month and although I have about $1,200 left I have a plan that will help me reach my goal. On April 16 I will host a yoga fundraiser at Yoga Off Broadway in Eagle from 4:30-6:30pm. In addition to an hour long yoga class, there will be a silent auction, homemade salad dressing and a few other homemade items for sale. This will be a donation based event, suggested donation is $20. My goal for this fundraiser is about $700. I will also have a garage sale on Saturday April 23, and I hope to make $200 from that. This weekend or next weekend I will have a bake sale for the Vail ski instructors, and finally I am receiving $200-300 more in donations. I will also do some more babysitting, this should help me reach my goal by the deadline. I have worked incredibly hard these last few months and am becoming more and more prepared for this journey. The trip is quickly approaching and I could not be more excited to depart on this incredible adventure!

My Journey Continues

Everything is starting to become more and more surreal for me. I have finally grasped the fact that over the summer I will travel to Tanzania to teach children and help them in anyway I can. I am becoming more excited for this amazing experience--the more I think about it, the luckier I feel. I am only 14 and I have already been to three continents, and am traveling to my fourth. I have incredible friends and family and I live in a beautiful place. I am lucky that I can do all of the activities I love and not drive more than 45 minutes. I truly am living a dream. This is why I am thrilled to help even more children and share my love with them, as I teach to the best of my ability and hopefully create an everlasting bond with them. Although I am very excited, I still have much to do before the trip. I am a little more than halfway done with my fundraising. So far, I have participated in three holiday markets, a bake sale, and received many generous donations to raise my money. I will continue to babysit, and am thinking of more ideas that could be very successful. I am a little nervous about raising the money, but I know that if I work hard and put my best ideas into action I will reach my goal. As part of preparation for this journey it is important that I learn about the country in which I am traveling and am well informed about its history and customs. Tanzania has had a tragic history. Europeans started to explore the country in the late 1800’s. In 1885 the Germans began taking over the region, led by Karl Peters, who forced tribes to make treaties with him. As the Germans were taking over the mainland of Tanzania, the British were beginning to gain control of the island of Zanzibar around 1890. The British and Germans made a treaty that the British would have Zanzibar and the Germans would have the mainland. From the very start the native Tanzania tribes were against the Germans. The first main revolt was in 1888. It was called the Abushiri revolt and the tribes on the coast of Tanzania revolted against the Germans. However, it didn't last long because the Germans crushed them quickly. Then from 1891 to 1898 the Germans fought a war with the Hehe tribe. Ultimately the Hehe were defeated and their leader, Mkwawa, killed himself. Shortly after that, in 1905-07 came the Maji Maji rebellion. Native Tanzanians were forced to work on cotton farms and plantations. People in Southern Tanzania started to rebel, but it was not long before they were defeated. More than 100,000 people died, both from starvation and from the rebellion. Finally, Tanzania became free from the Germans after World War One had ended. The country was handed over to the British and the people of Tanzania started the African Association. Eventually, Tanzania became a free state on December 9, 1961 and became a republic a year later. Tanzania is a very unique country. It has suffered many hardships in the past but ultimately with perseverance the people came together and united as one. Tanzania is about half the size of Texas, and although it's not very large it has many incredible features to offer. It has a diverse collection of wildlife, including: giraffes, lions, cheetahs, elephants, and zebras. Mt Kilimanjaro, also towers over the African savanna. Tanzania’s main language is Swahili, and some of the main religions are Christianity and Islam. When greeting an elder you say Shikamoo as a sign of respect. Every meal is eaten with some form of carbohydrate such as rice or corn. Every ceremony that takes place in Tanzania requires a large platter of food. In one instance a pilau may be the meal. This is a dish that includes spiced rice, potato, and meat. It is considered very shameful if a guest leaves hungry from a ceremonial meal. After researching Tanzania and learning more about the customs I am even more thrilled to travel there. Not only to help children in need but to also experience Tanzania’s culture and see how other people live. I know that the world is much larger than just America and there are all kinds of sights to see, people to meet, and lessons to learn. I have made incredible bonds with children in Cambodia and Nicaragua. I still think about them everyday and know that I have impacted their lives. I would like to feel the same way after returning from Tanzania. I want focus on something bigger than myself. I want to learn how to bring all sides of me together so I can truly discover who I am. I want to help the children in Tanzania with all my capabilities, I want the experience to make me more aware, make me able to always persevere and open up to the world in ways I never thought I would.