(Almost) SPRING BREAK!

I'm so excited to have spring break this year; a week and a half of vacation time to relax.. who am I kidding? There's no time to relax during senior year when you're just trying to graduate! There are so many projects and papers to continue working on during this short break and I'm just thankful I don't have classes to keep up with during this time. On top of this I have the Baruch Asian Student Union show to prepare for and practice every day! 

It's my last few weeks as an undergraduate at Baruch and I'm kind of glad that I ended up attending Baruch (not just for the opportunities fund, free laptop and free ride!) but because of some of the people I met through college. Baruch Kappas helped open me up to the world and broke the shell that was holding me back from pursuing a lot of things I felt I was too shy to accomplish; the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance helped establish me as a leader as Co-President and Co-Vice President; and lastly, the opportunities fund I was granted as a Macaulay Honors student allowed me the chance to go to New Orleans for Habitat for Humanity and Ecuador to volunteer teaching English. 

I take my life for granted sometimes but I do know that I am pretty blessed when it comes to my parents and supporters cheering me on every step of the way to make sure I had a good education and the best of the best. They never spared a cent when it came to prep classes for school or specialized exams and were always pushing me to go beyond the expectations I had for myself. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have made it into Bronx Science, nor would I have made it to Macaulay Honors at Baruch. If I hadn't gone to Baruch, I wouldn't have met my friends Peng and Brian who told me about UBELONG, and I wouldn't have known about this organization that opened my eyes to what I could be doing with my life: helping others and improving communities.

My Next Adventure: Merida, Mexico

After Winter 2012, two of my friends informed me about their UBELONG volunteer experience in Cusco, Peru, and encouraged me to check it out. I had always been interested in exploring Latin America for other reasons besides merely tourism and vacation, so I went on the website to see what this organization was all about. Little did I know that I would soon be applying and getting accepted to the UBELONG Teaching English project in Quito, Ecuador. I'll save that story for another time, but it was definitely a life-changing experience. I knew that volunteering abroad once was definitely not enough.

I decided to take another step outside of my comfort zone (aka my comfortable home in NYC which I know and love so much) and apply for another project with UBELONG, this time in Merida, Mexico since I remember enjoying my experience in Cancun when I visited in 2007. Above is a screenshot of my acceptance email to the project! I am so excited to be catapulting ahead and pursuing my dreams of helping communities abroad. This January 2015, I will be helping out at a food bank in Merida and I'm soooo looking forward to escaping the harsh winter temperatures and enjoying the warm sun when I go volunteer.

I have to say volunteering abroad is definitely a big step, and you should always do your research before you commit to a project. I trust UBELONG and have had wonderful, reliable interactions with the UBELONG staff and points of contact and would volunteer with them all the time if I had unlimited funds, but while I'm still an undergraduate student, I'll keep to pursuing a project every few years :) 

I have so many pictures to share with you all from my volunteer project in Ecuador which I'll post when I have more time after I'm finished with all my senior year exams/papers/projects :X Until next time...

"Volunteers are not paid--not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless."

I really like this quote because I think volunteers are one of the most selfless people in the world. I'm not tooting my own horn, rather I'm acknowledging everyone that I've had the chance to volunteer with because they each give up valuable time from their busy lives and give back to the community. I've done volunteer work in an animal shelter, in a church for a food pantry service, at swim meets, at a thrift shop, at a Health Education center in a health clinic, etc. Each of these opportunities allowed me to meet individuals I wouldn't have been able to meet if it weren't for my choice to volunteer.

Living in NYC for all of my life, I've seen how cold individuals can be. On the trains I see the majority of passengers closed off in their little bubbles with their headphones in their ears and their phones glued to their hands as they play the latest game offered on the Play or Apple Store. Many people in this society are so consumed in their own worlds that they don't see what's going on around them. Many of us live extremely privileged lives that we take for granted. It may be extreme to say but there really are people who are desperate for a bite to eat and some New Yorkers carelessly throw away their leftovers without appreciating that they have the ability to waste food like that. If we all cared a little more about what's around us we can see there is much improvement that can be done and it starts with us.

If you pass through my blog and read this post, I encourage you to spend an hour or two to try volunteering. It makes you feel so good and awesome that you were able to help at least one person during your time of service. I really appreciate this quote because volunteers give back without asking for anything in return; volunteers don't need money, they just want to help others.

Photo Credit: http://www.gapyearblog.info/blog/2013/1/4/ten-best-inspirational-quotes-for-volunteering.html