Throughout this semester we learned a lot about peace and how it can be achieved. I have realized that the change does have to start with each person on their own. So I came up with my two goals to bring peace to the life I live in, both a short and long term goal.
My short term goal is to begin and end within the next month, by analyzing my life and the people around me. I will learn to love my self first, because without that, peace around cannot be reached. I want to see my family come together more as a whole and do things around the community together as one.
My long term goal is become way more involved in different centers like the YMCA, homeless shelters etc. I may not be able to save the world or help every single person in it, but I can focus on the city I live in and start by helping my own neighbors out first. My ultimate long long term goal is to take at least one trip to Africa and have the opportunity to volunteer with the children and families.
Everyone has goals in this life, it is up to you to make it happen.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Inner Peace
Inner peace is a state of mind, not something that can be bought or obtained with bribery. It is not an object and no one persons inner peace will ever be the same as anyone else. Inner peace is what you make in your life. It is what you see makes you laugh, smile and rejoice. Whether its taking long walks at sundown or traveling the world to see the extraordinary. Inner peace can not be measured or compared. For me my inner peace is sitting back and witnessing the smiles on my family's faces at a BBQ or holiday gathering. I find my most inner peace when I travel away from El Paso to visit family in Dallas and I have not a care in the world, no homework, work, not even a grocery list to look at. Inner peace starts from within, if you are not content, happy and love yourself first, then I believe you can never find your true tranquility and inner peace in your own life.
Rise and Fall Op-ed
As children we have been raised to respect one another and speak with kind words. As we continue to grow into adults we realize the world is not what our elders may have made it out to be. We are no longer are in the sand box sharing shovels, we are attacking and killing innocent people that want to live a peaceful life just like everyone else.
There are many elements that we can blame for the prevention of peace in our world, but just like a living plant, peace begins with the first seed planted in a nation. That seed is the political powers put into place to lead our country and make the correct decisions for all the people that look up to them. What happens when the seeds are rotten? We have seen first-hand the effects of rotten leaders and improper procedures when electing them.
In the middle-eastern country of Egypt, the world has seen how chaos has ruptured and has only created a ripple effect throughout our world. Looking back into the history of the leaders of Egypt it has been discovered that proper procedures in electing political officers may have followed through in the early years but along the line something got messed up and the rules went out the door.
According to the Britannica encyclopedia research about the election of Egyptian president Mubarak in 1995 is when the anger of the citizens of Egypt began, and in 2005, the accusations of irregularities arouse. At this point of reelection for the fourth time, peace in the minds of the Egyptians was too far gone and so which is why the outbursts began in February 2011.
Now the military has taken political control into their hands and is attempting to reform the government system into a more efficient one. There is hope that with the new elections coming about in the September that they will be fair and concise. If the correct leader is chosen, the country can have the opportunity to rebuild itself and become the stable great country it once was.
Peace comes from the root, meaning the leaders of the country. If proper power is put into place, the world can see a drastic change of mind and heart from people all around the world. Peace is attainable when one has an open mind and positive reinforcement from leaders they look up to.
There are many elements that we can blame for the prevention of peace in our world, but just like a living plant, peace begins with the first seed planted in a nation. That seed is the political powers put into place to lead our country and make the correct decisions for all the people that look up to them. What happens when the seeds are rotten? We have seen first-hand the effects of rotten leaders and improper procedures when electing them.
In the middle-eastern country of Egypt, the world has seen how chaos has ruptured and has only created a ripple effect throughout our world. Looking back into the history of the leaders of Egypt it has been discovered that proper procedures in electing political officers may have followed through in the early years but along the line something got messed up and the rules went out the door.
According to the Britannica encyclopedia research about the election of Egyptian president Mubarak in 1995 is when the anger of the citizens of Egypt began, and in 2005, the accusations of irregularities arouse. At this point of reelection for the fourth time, peace in the minds of the Egyptians was too far gone and so which is why the outbursts began in February 2011.
Now the military has taken political control into their hands and is attempting to reform the government system into a more efficient one. There is hope that with the new elections coming about in the September that they will be fair and concise. If the correct leader is chosen, the country can have the opportunity to rebuild itself and become the stable great country it once was.
Peace comes from the root, meaning the leaders of the country. If proper power is put into place, the world can see a drastic change of mind and heart from people all around the world. Peace is attainable when one has an open mind and positive reinforcement from leaders they look up to.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Stand Up!!
I thought the video on homophobic bullying was an excellent way to show the public how peace can be created just by the courage of one single person. When the boy is made fun of and given bad looks for his sexuality he becomes a loner and does not want to approach anyone. This can be detrimental to a young teenager trying to find his way through life. It wasn't until the one boy in the green shirt stood up and took the other guys hand and proved to everyone that homosexuality shouldn't be anything to be ashamed of. Everyone should have the right to be who they want to be. The video shows that it doesn't take an entire army but just one single person to decide to take a stand in something that is wrong and it change the mind of millions.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Egypt
The country I choose to write about was Egypt and turmoil that has been occurring. I'll begin by talking about what is happening in Egypt. As many people know the citizens of Egypt were tired of their president in power Mubarak. They decided to come together and protest that he step down and that a new government is put into place. The rallies and protests continued for days till finally they succeeded and Mubarak stepped down. Shortly after, Mubarak did pass away of natural causes which ensured the people of Egypt he could not return to power. The problem now is that Egypt got rid of the current president but are trying to answer the question of who to put as president now. The son of Mubarak, whose name is Gamal, is who is seen as the rightful person to take the place but there are other political opponents who are taking the stand to run against Gamal for the position as president.
Another issue that mainly concerns the United States, is that the people of Egypt are angry with the U.S. and do not wish welcome our citizens. The reason for this anger is due to the U.S., for many years supported the ruling of Mubarak and was not till recently had then gone to the side of the protesters. In this case, now Egypt is viewing the U.S. as an enemy and not a potential allay.
What I think of this whole situation is that it started off good, as a non-violent protest and people taking a stand for what they believe in and turned completely bad almost instantly. Through my research I learned that the violence began when Mubarak supporters began to lash back at protesters and that is when things got ugly. Now that Mubarak is gone I see that Egypt has a long road ahead of them and who knows if they will be in a worse or maybe better position than before. Without a controlled government to run the country things will begin to turn into chaos.
The issue also with Egypt not welcoming the U.S. is understandable to a certain degree. I understand why they might be angry but it goes back many years and it wouldn't be smart to continue to ruin a potential strong allay for the country.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Las Americas Advocacy Center Memo
Date: February 14, 2011
To: English 1311 classmates
From: Crystal Saavedra
Subject: Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center
Drugs, violence and abuse, the normal part of a young teenager’s life living in places like Ecuador and Honduras. Depression and never knowing where to turn for salvation, a feeling almost no one in this class may ever understand. This is the “typical” life of young children and women who are trying to escape the conditions at home. There are many people trying to cross to the United States to find freedom and peace and a fresh start at life, especially children. This journey could not be completed if not for the Las Americas group in El Paso, Texas.
The Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center is an organization created by Ruben Garcia to provide not only asylum but assistance for battered women and children forced into human trafficking. Las Americas began with the “Annunciation House” and eventually turned it into a place some call “home”. This organization specializes in representing men, women or children and giving each person an opportunity of asylum or escape. Las Americas representatives does not stop there, they serve as the voices of battered women, and children who lived their life in human trafficking.
Las Americas understands where their patients come from and what their objective in coming to the United States is and they take almost all clients in and represent them to fight for their freedom. “Today, Las Americas continues to be one of the only non-profit legal service providers to assist low-income asylum seekers, immigrant children and battered women in the El Paso region” (http://las-americas.org/?page_id=35). You can choose to become a donor or volunteer in helping the cases of thousands of helpless immigrants. Las Americas has grown tremendously with the hard work and efforts of Ruben Garcia the founder and the dedicated individuals who work every day to try and improve someone’s life.
The Las Americas website, http://www.las-americas.org/, is a very simple and informative site. It provides information to the public on their history and how Las Americas was created and what morals and missions the organization stands for. It is very navigational friendly and includes the different services that Las Americas assists in, such as battered women and children. The website is simple, and sincere. It even has one special tab to learn how to get involved, such as volunteering, donating and educating. The last part of the web site that I thought was good was that the site provides stories and articles on their success stories and how Las Americas helps each individual in their own situation. The whole organization as a whole is a wonderful creation that I hope will continue on for years and so we can continue to hear more success stories.
To: English 1311 classmates
From: Crystal Saavedra
Subject: Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center
Drugs, violence and abuse, the normal part of a young teenager’s life living in places like Ecuador and Honduras. Depression and never knowing where to turn for salvation, a feeling almost no one in this class may ever understand. This is the “typical” life of young children and women who are trying to escape the conditions at home. There are many people trying to cross to the United States to find freedom and peace and a fresh start at life, especially children. This journey could not be completed if not for the Las Americas group in El Paso, Texas.
The Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center is an organization created by Ruben Garcia to provide not only asylum but assistance for battered women and children forced into human trafficking. Las Americas began with the “Annunciation House” and eventually turned it into a place some call “home”. This organization specializes in representing men, women or children and giving each person an opportunity of asylum or escape. Las Americas representatives does not stop there, they serve as the voices of battered women, and children who lived their life in human trafficking.
Las Americas understands where their patients come from and what their objective in coming to the United States is and they take almost all clients in and represent them to fight for their freedom. “Today, Las Americas continues to be one of the only non-profit legal service providers to assist low-income asylum seekers, immigrant children and battered women in the El Paso region” (http://las-americas.org/?page_id=35). You can choose to become a donor or volunteer in helping the cases of thousands of helpless immigrants. Las Americas has grown tremendously with the hard work and efforts of Ruben Garcia the founder and the dedicated individuals who work every day to try and improve someone’s life.
The Las Americas website, http://www.las-americas.org/, is a very simple and informative site. It provides information to the public on their history and how Las Americas was created and what morals and missions the organization stands for. It is very navigational friendly and includes the different services that Las Americas assists in, such as battered women and children. The website is simple, and sincere. It even has one special tab to learn how to get involved, such as volunteering, donating and educating. The last part of the web site that I thought was good was that the site provides stories and articles on their success stories and how Las Americas helps each individual in their own situation. The whole organization as a whole is a wonderful creation that I hope will continue on for years and so we can continue to hear more success stories.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Central Asia Institute
The video was very inspiring and showed me that no matter how bad a situation may be there is always that one person who can come and make a change. With the help of the Central Asian Institute combined with Greg Martonson they helped a hand full of impoverished people improve their way of life. This great act of kindness and determination is the type of acts our world needs everyday. This is a stepping-stone to accomplishing peace in our world. I think it was very smart in the path that Greg choose to follow which was education, and not he focused mainly on the advancement of education mainly in young girls. Building the community school in that Pakistan area shows other countries around the world that we all can care for each other regardless of our race, and cultures. This small step is a step on the way to hopefully opening the eyes of others and encouraging others to participate in helping our new and old generations learn and become educated and not just think of violence, war and terror as the answer to our problems. This will help the Pakistan economy grow and even lower the infant mortality rates and girls can grow up to be leaders not just house wives. With education everyone can achieve more than some ever have dreamed of.
What does Peace mean to me?
When I think of peace I think of our world and the children and the poverty amongst us. I think about heroes all over the world, leaders and politicians who every day to try and make this world a better place to live in. The war and deaths that we hear about everyday make me wonder why our world is not able to get along or what people cannot understand about each to make them hate each other.
People that I think of that have shown an attempt to help educate the world in peace are people like president Obama and television legend Oprah. President Barack Obama being of a different race went against the odds in the United States Presidential election and not only took office but showed the world that change was possible and gave hope that people in our country may embrace and accept others for who they are and their beliefs.
Oprah demonstrates acts of kindness and the want for a better world with many acts of kindness she does herself. I remember seeing her in one of her episodes with Barbra Walters and how she talked about how she never wants to be married or have children because she believes she was put on earth not to have a family but to do everything in her power to make the world a better place. I remember her saying how she goes to different places in Africa every year to helps families and kids in need of basic essentials and even gave her thoughts on a school she wanted built for the children (Not sure if it’s been built already).
What it all comes down to is that in order to achieve peace we must learn to accept change in our selves and in the world around us. We must learn to be humble, as my dad always told me “to never be selfish and give what you can because in end when it’s your time to pass u take nothing with you”, it all stays here on earth. So why not utilize all the potential leaders and booming minds of the next generations and use them to make a better world to live in.
People that I think of that have shown an attempt to help educate the world in peace are people like president Obama and television legend Oprah. President Barack Obama being of a different race went against the odds in the United States Presidential election and not only took office but showed the world that change was possible and gave hope that people in our country may embrace and accept others for who they are and their beliefs.
Oprah demonstrates acts of kindness and the want for a better world with many acts of kindness she does herself. I remember seeing her in one of her episodes with Barbra Walters and how she talked about how she never wants to be married or have children because she believes she was put on earth not to have a family but to do everything in her power to make the world a better place. I remember her saying how she goes to different places in Africa every year to helps families and kids in need of basic essentials and even gave her thoughts on a school she wanted built for the children (Not sure if it’s been built already).
What it all comes down to is that in order to achieve peace we must learn to accept change in our selves and in the world around us. We must learn to be humble, as my dad always told me “to never be selfish and give what you can because in end when it’s your time to pass u take nothing with you”, it all stays here on earth. So why not utilize all the potential leaders and booming minds of the next generations and use them to make a better world to live in.
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