Day 15: Following your heart

The past couple of days I've been getting ready to go to Leogan, Haiti, to help with the logistics of a medical camp. My family has been very supportive, a little worried but they understand my desire to help. After the first couple of days I stopped looking at the graphic and I've chosen to only read stories of survival and courage. Survival. I am not trying to pretend things in Haiti are anything but horrendous. I understand that right now the entire country is covered in grief, in blood, in tears, in fear. I understand that but I choose to focus on the opposite end of this tragedy.

I choose to celebrate the seventeen year old girl who was rescued fifteen days after the earthquake

I choose to celebrate the French rescue team that is still searching for people alive instead of removing bodies, even though the official rescue efforts have been called off

I choose to celebrate Elisabeth, a 23-day-old baby, is rescued from the ruins of a house in the devastated town of Jacmel rescued 8 days after the earthquake

I choose to celebrate all the work many Dominicans are doing not because they have to but because they can

I choose to celebrate my brother who went to Haiti on a one week trip and chose to stay an extra week because they needed the help

I choose to celebrate all the people that are opening their homes to those who have none

I understand that as a whole what I will encounter will probably be so painful ill find it  impossible to describe but I as I see it this is my chance learn what I am truly made of. I have always been a very loud, very opinionated person but this is the first time I can put my money where my mouth is. I used to  dream I would  change the world,  I used to dream that I would  make a difference but I've never done anything to actually turn those dreams into a reality. This is an opportunity for me to grow, a chance to discover the real meaning of hope and an opportunity to learn more about myself.

Obviously because of this trip I’m taking I won’t be able to post regularly (not that I've been doing that in the first place) but I am taking with me a blank notebook and two pens. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep writing every day while I'm there. When I come back ill try and type up all my experiences if I can. In the meantime I leave you with these inspiring words…

"If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
If I am not for others, what am I?
And if not now, when?"

Rabbi Hillel

"Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it."

  Groucho Marx

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