Haiti: A Life Changing DestinationCecily DiPenti

Preview

Epigraphy

Thesis statement

The Before

Life Changing Shift

The After

Conclusion

Works Cited

“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay

you.” (Bunyan)

“I used to be your typical high-school teenager who had no cares in

the world and rarely thought about others in need. But that dramatically

changed after a trip to Haiti, where I experienced true suffering of other

people and realized that I could make a difference and help. From then on,

all I could think about was helping others.”

Before the Shift

Before

I was your typical high school teenager before I took my trip to Haiti.

My priorities were like everyone else's:

Getting good enough grade for college

Hanging out with friends whenever possible

Having no cares in the world

Before

I was raised in church and taught that you should always try to help others and put others first.

As a teenager it wasn’t something that I was very focused on.

The thought of others in great need let alone another country in great need, honestly, never really crossed my mind.

That changed when my dad came back from his first trip to Haiti.

BeforeHe began to show my family and I pictures of the people and the conditions of country.

I began to understand more of why he went there and how many needs these people actually had.

That is when my parents informed me that I would be accompanying them on their next trip to Haiti.

I was apprehensive to say the least.

The Shift

DuringCulture Shock:

a feeling of confusion, doubt, or nervousness caused by being in a place that is very different from what you are used to (Merriam-Webster).

It is something you don’t fully understand till you experience it

As we drove through the village for the first time my eyes were completely opened.

Half clothed and naked kids playing in the streets

Women caring water on their head

Sticks and tarps holding up “houses”

During

I was concerned about how the Haitians were going to respond to a young white girl coming into their village.

I was surprised when they welcomed me with open arms:

The kids wanted to be loved on

The women wanted me to hold their children

They knew we were their to help.

At some points I was in a way disgusted with myself for the way I had once acted about things in life, I had everything I needed compared to these people.

Aneki.com

DuringI acted those ways when people here were dying from not having enough food to survive.

I will never forget when I first met Christina.

Only 7 months old, Only 7 pounds

As I held her I could feel every bone in her body.

She was so weak and I watched as she struggled with every breath.

I had never seen a anyone actually starving to death, before the moment.

How can that not change someone?

During

After loving on and playing children who were starving and still thankful for everything they had, I knew I would never be the same.

From that moment on I wanted to help these people however I could, whenever I could.

After the Shift

After

After seeing the difference I could make in peoples lives, it was hard to leave.

Knowing that some of the people at home still looked at life the way I did before I left.

I knew I was coming home to friends and family who wouldn’t quite understand what I had experienced.

Or why I felt different about life now.

I had found joy in a place where people had

nothing but still had joy.

After

I found myself constantly thinking about the people and kids, and the little things I could do that could help them in some way.

I had become the person I always thought was over the top.

Someone who forgot about themselves and put everything they had into others.

Me helping pack food at Kids Against hunger; an organization that sends meals to the children in Haiti.

AfterI knew that inside I felt a change in whom I was, but what I didn’t realize was that others could see it as well.

I wasn’t one to tell everyone how I felt I had changed, I just wanted to put the change into action.

Family and friends began to tell me that they were proud of me and to keep making such a great difference.

It was very encouraging and confirmed that I was doing something bigger than myself, I was helping change peoples lives.

Conclusion

Conclusion• If it wasn’t for my trip to Haiti, I don’t know who I would

be today.

• I feel blessed to have had such an amazing and life changing opportunity.

• I believe it is something everyone should get the chance to experience, and realize that there are others out there in great need.

• I hope that from hearing the change I experienced, more people would become interested in helping the less fortunate.

• Now I truly believe, it is more blessed to give than to receive.

Aneki.com

Works Cited

Bunyan, John. Personal communication.

“culture shock.” Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, 2011.Web. 4 April 2014.

Blank Outline Map of Haiti. Digital image. Aneki.com. Web. 4 April2014.

(All the pictures not cited were taken personally by myself & family)