Freebie

I am using my Freebie this week

Garifuna (PB)

Outside of medicine and biology my most important activity is my volunteer work with the Garifuna Coalition USA Inc, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the Garifuna people in New York. I have been working with the organization for four years. My favorite responsibility so far was organizing the Lirahunu Chatoyer Youth Leadership Program. The program educated the Garifuna youth on their history, culture and language. My job was to make sure we had instructors for each lesson, metro cards available for the participants to travel to and from class and lunch ready for when the day's lesson was over. I loved learning about my complex history and the beautiful language my people spoke. A lot of people are not lucky enough to know where they come from but I am proud to say that my people can trace their history all the way back to their ancestors. Along with learning about my past, working within my own culture opened my eyes to the many issues that have to be addressed within the community, and to the many solutions I can take part in. I plan on continuing my involvement with the Garifuna Coalition while in college. I can tell that connecting and engaging with different communities and cultures is a large part of the college experience for students. Therefore, one of the things I want to do while in college is expose other students to my Garifuna culture, one of the best kept secrets in the world.

"Dear Marcus: A Letter to the Man Who Shot Me" (SSR)

“Dear Marcus: A Letter to the Man Who Shot Me” is one of those life changing pieces of literature. The author, Jerry McGill, was shot as a teenager in the back by an unknown individual that was never caught. The incident left him wheel chair bound for life. At first McGill was shattered. He lived a life full of hate for this individual that with a single shot had changed the entire course of his life. He also drowned himself in self pity for the condition he had been left in and the every day human activities he could no longer take part in such as jogging or dancing. However, one day McGill woke up and decided he was no longer going to hate himself, or pity his lifestyle. He decided that rather than feel trapped by his wheel chair he was going to embrace the fact that this was now his life and live it to the fullest. This part of the book made me think of the Serenity Prayer “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. The courage to change the things I can. And wisdom to know the difference.” Through his words and his actions McGill brought that prayer to life for me. When certain changes took place in my life that I had no control over, I would feel defeated and like I had no say in what was going on. However, McGill made me realize that you do not allow the situations in your life to shape you. He taught me that you have the power to change your view on life situations so that instead of harming you, they are able to help you grow as a person.