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

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

April 2014.

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

family)