I feel guilty because I’m at home watching TV on a couch while someone my age is at a poorly vented sweatshop making stark white Nike Air Force 1’s for less than a dollar. Comparing any of our lives with any other teen in North America, it may seem boring and similar but when we compare our lives with someone in the third world, it is hard to accept that that could have easily been us. We are all truly blessed, and with these blessings come great responsibility. We have to take initiative and use what we have to better the lives of others that cannot do it themselves. I remember when I got my first pay cheque just this September, my family celebrated by going to the US, to shop of course! I have been looking at these Nikes for a solid year, and being me, I knew I would only buy these only when I got a job. And then there it was, the pay cheque right before my eyes. I ended up buying the shoes, which was no surprise! I remember the last time I had a pair of Nikes which were seven years ago, and now I know why. All this time I have been wanting these shoes for so long that I was so blind to see that my parents were trying so hard to keep me from wearing/buying Nikes for seven years. They said that the shoes made by Nike were made in a sweatshop and that is why they have told me why I haven’t had Nikes in such a long time. When they told me this, in my head I was like: “Who cares! I got the shoes! Wooho!” but after a few months it hit me in class that sweat shops are not a “who cares” type of subject because people are being used, abused, and taken advantage of for making such a simple clothing articles. Now looking back to that day in class, I feel that I am more aware when I buy my clothing and now I’m trying to minimize buying clothes and shoes, period. Who really needs that much stuff anyways, not buying is better than buying at all. All in all, I am glad that one pair of grey Nikes could change ones outlook on life and possible clothing choice.
Reflecting back to all our events with the Steve Nash Foundation, I can’t help but not be thankful for all the amazing opportunities he has given us. From the first event we took part in with the foundation (Showdown in Downtown) until the most recent Phoenix Suns basketball game, the foundation has trusted us with so much responsibility. I can’t believe that one event can lead to so many cool things. It’s amazing how the Paraguay group paved an amazing way for the Mongolian crew. One little ripple can truly affect this program which is astounding to hear and I hope that our group can help future groups like Paraguay did for us. At the first Steve Nash fundraiser, I felt pretty guilty that the star “struck-ness” took over me (and most of us) while helping out at the game. I personally think that I could have stayed more focus on our task (garbage collection) than watching the match. In the second game though, I felt that I did a better job and also our Mongolia group as a whole. I felt that we all worked really well as a team and we didn’t let the game affect us from performing as amazing as we did. That Phoenix Suns game made me feel like I was really part of a bigger picture in trying to help others out, which feels great! I think that our work that day paid off as well because we actually got to meet Steve Nash himself. It was actually pretty funny how he pretty much surprised us. All in all, I hope our effort at the Phoenix Suns basketball game leads us to more opportunities whether it be with the Mongolia crew or the future Global Perspectives groups. Thanks Steve!
That was some party. At the party we were all assign a certain trait that can be found in our very own society. The traits were assigned to us are one of the following: boss, extremist, saboteur, flatterer and show-off. At the “party” we were to act as our given role and talk to other people about the topic of “Global Perspectives, Colts to Mongolia”. I had the wonderful opportunity to be the flatterer. My job was to agree with anybody’s opinion and complement them as much possible. During the activity it was really peculiar because nothing was getting done and our conversations went no where. When I went to talk to a boss, all I could do was agree with them even though I felt the opposite. When I talked to another flatterer, all we could talk about how was good each other was. In the end of the party everyone was still where we began with, nothing. What I learned from this activity was that we all need to learn how to be ourselves without stepping on other people’s toes. Even though we have our own personalities, we must learn to get along with each other. In addition I learned that, if everyone were to learn to let other people to lead/follow, our job in Mongolia will become easier.
Wow! What a night. I can’t believe that just a week ago we embarked on one of the biggest milestones in our Global Perspectives journey. It was a hectic night and it really showed how much we could all work as a team. I remember waking up that day and thinking today is the day. Sadly, not everything turns out great, i recall waking up with a horrible fever that day, which is not a great start to such a tiring day that would await us all. In the afternoon, everybody was running full speed and i mean actually running to get everything set. All the jobs that we had never stopped, which was kind of fun and crazy at the same time. Justine and I had to leave last block just to pick up flowers for the thank you gifts for the culinary arts staff. When we got back to Mr. Matheny’s room, hell was about to break loose. Everything was everywhere! When we started to get a little organized , an incident happened, which is expected. I mean no journey is smooth sailing. The silent action sheets and items where all in different orders, silent auction numbers were missing, auction items were missing, and our composure as well. I think as a group, we all handled those problems quite well, even though we were rushing. Everyone was helping out each other, working as a single unit. When the actual dinner started everything was pretty smooth sailing. I think that a our pre-dinner chaos and panic helped us to realize that working as a team and helping each other will get things done more easily and efficiently. Dinner service was great! We all had our own assigned tables but eventually we all just helped each other out and served anybody’s table that still needed food. At that time though i was slowly fading. I could feel my head spinning, and i felt really really cold. My fever was getting worse. I’m pretty sure i was running on adrenaline for most of the dinner set up and most of the dinner service because after most of the the people left, so did all my energy leave too. I went home at around 9:00 pm, right before we were about to eat and discuss the dinner, which was a real bummer because i wanted to hear everybodies stories that night and the feed back from everybody. All in all though, i felt that “MONOGLIA” dinner turned out great and i felt that i became a lot more close to everyone in the program! It was truly a success and i hope that everything just gets better from here.
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