I always wish
that I was more involved in my community by changing the way I live my own
life. Michael Jackson wrote a great song that demonstrated this idea of how
powerful it is to change the way you live in order to make a positive change in
your world. The song, by the way, is called Man
in the Mirror and I think we could all learn an important lesson. To be
educated, to be motivated, and to contribute are the greatest keys in this
world.
In my
neighborhood, many of my neighbors have grown gardens that supply them with
organic greens which not only reduce their carbon footprint but also provide
our street with healthy foods. Unfortunately, however, my family has yet to
start a garden, but we are getting there getting the advice of some of the “green
thumbs” around us. My family does go to Farmer’s Market, but we do not go as
frequently as we would like to. A good friend of mine told me that she signed
up for a program that sends her locally-farmed greens every week from the
months of May to September; I think, maybe, next year my family should sign up
for this program too because it is not only healthy but it helps the local
community. Thinking about something, however, is not the same thing as acting,
and that is what I need to do more of.
The two main
stores I do grocery shopping at are Winco Foods and Wal-Mart where most of their
products are generally cheaper than, say, Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. The
fruit and vegetables are, most certainly. The question then becomes: Why? Well,
I know that things are cheaper because (1) they are being brought in from other
states or are imported from other countries, and (2) they are being manufactured
by people who only make maybe a tenth max of what the average American makes.
Those are only a few reasons why, and even after knowing that for a couple
years has not made me change, yet. I am missing the action; I am missing the
motivation and contribution to my community which forms a politics of “I’ll get
to it some other time.”
On the other
hand, though, I have worked hard to dedicate my time to my school by
participating in clubs and organizations (such as the Nevada Tennis Club, Blue
Crew, and HOSA), and I spent eight months volunteering at Renown Regional
Medical Center in the Roseview Intensive Care Unit helping patients and nurses
from staying at bedside with a patient comforting them to helping a nurse clean
a patient. My internship in R-ICU was one of the best experiences of my life
where I was not only able to put smiles on the faces of people in the unit, but
I was also able to find meaning for me where helping others was what I wanted
to do with my life. I have met so many people by participating in clubs and organizations
and by volunteering, and I hope I was able to positively impact the people I
was with.
There are so many things that I wish I could do
and things that I want to change in order to make my community better. I want
to be in an environment where the politics focuses on motivation to make
positive change. I am constantly learning more and more about my world and I am
now motivated to soon contribute. These are my words and I am ready to act.
I found the part about Winco and Wal-Mart very interesting. It reminded me of the whole "nimbyism" movement. I completely relate. We hear the arguments and understand the importance, yet it never seems to be convenient to change our way of life. I mean, let's not kid ourselves, those places make it so easy to get all that we need. But at what cost? For every job at Wal-Mart, 2 jobs are lost in the mom and pops world. That is really cool that you are trying to learn from your neighbors though. It reminds me of the riddle:
ReplyDelete"How do you eat an elephant?"
Answer: "One bite at a time."
That is how change will really occur. So good for you.