In the past many factors have limited me from becoming involved in my community. At home my family claimed the neutral position, and was indifferent to the activities I was involved in. They said what I was doing was good, but would shy away when I asked them to get out there with me which left me unmotivated. The biggest reason I never became involved was that my peers gave off a negative attitude towards social activism. One weekend I asked them if they wanted to work at the food bank they literally responded, "Why would you do that? You're crazy." Sometimes that left me feeling like the red man in the picture above. Why even try if no one in your personal life is going to support you. Luckily I found the right group of people that supported what I did, and even joined me at church my junior year in high school. They really cared about issues in our immediate area and were open to help. Some of the skills that I have to offer are my work ethic, decent communication skills, and that I am technologically apt. Through networking I have found used computers that can be donated to refugees from Catholic Social Services. I can also teach the refugees how to use these computers.
The concept of, "If we convince ourselves that nothing can change, we don't have to risk acting on our dreams." is so true in our society. It's a matter of why even try if I might not make a difference? This concept is instilled in us in subtle ways throughout our lives (i.e. the news, peers, culture) and effectively leads to many not making an attempt to become involved. It has stopped me many times, but one of my coaches in wrestling early on would always say, "the defeats are only a step towards success." If we were to view social activism like this, even ineffective attempts at becoming involved would be bveneficial to making a positive change.
I can relate completely to a lack of support from those around you. It is important to find a group to support you in your endeavors, but I don't believe we should give up on those that are closest to us (i.e.) friends and family because just like you needing to find motivation to get involved they just need the same. This doesn't come in the same way for everyone so we just have to continue to be passionate about our beliefs and passions and we may one day trigger that passion in them.
ReplyDeleteI really like that quote you have from your wrestling coach. If we always thought of defeats as steps for our success, we would never get discouraged, never give up and never want to quit! It also makes me think of Thomas Edison's attempt to develop the light bulb. I'm not sure exactly how the quote goes but he says he didn't fail 1,000 times, it just took 1,001 steps to get his invention to work. And just like we learn in the book about how Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. worked for years and years trying to make a change, it was through their perseverance and seeing their defeats as steps to their future success.
ReplyDeleteAs far as feeling like the "red man" goes.. you can read on my blog about how I feel the same way sometimes. The good thing is now we are involved in a great group through SLICE where we are surrounded by individuals who care about you and the community around us! Sharing the same goal to change the world. So thankfully we can link arms and encourage each other as we step over our defeats and on toward success.
I understand that many times we must face people that dont view the world as we do. Just like your friends did not see as you did to go to the food bank. Also, your coach was right, many times we work and work and it seems like nothing is acomplished and your work was ineffective. But only through much more effort can we truly see the change we wish to see.
ReplyDeleteNice job Jordan! I like your coach's quote alot. It also is very hard to express your friends and some family members lack of interest or support towards your volunteering. It is inspiring to hear that despite them, you will continue to keep on doing what you do!
ReplyDeleteJordan,
ReplyDeleteknow that you are an amazing person with a lot of perseverance. I am glad that you continued to look for that support from a group of people more than willing to join you in working towards a greater cause.
When I use to talk to my family about service I would get the same responses you have, but now that time has passed they are more open to the idea. Maybe if you try again with your family, they'll be more reluctant to join in because they see how happy it makes you. :)