A Mission of Constant Denial

“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.” ― Randy Pausch

Throughout our lives, I am sure we have all heard wise people harp on the importance of perseverance.  Although I have been constantly reminded of this importance, I do not think it ever really sunk in until recently.  

Since the beginning of the Peace Stamps mission, there has been constant denials, whether it is denied visa applications, denied grant applications, denied sponsorship opportunities, the inability to find volunteer projects, or just the general disapproval of people I tell about my mission.  After my most recent denied grant application, I was wondering to myself why I am even trying to achieve this goal.  World peace and cultural empathy is such a lofty goal.  Is it really achievable?  

I believe it is!  I believe in this mission so much that I am willing to persevere through the constant denials and hurdles because the end goal is worth it.

If you truly believe in something, do not let any amount of impediments stop you from pursuing your goals and dreams.  There will always be obstacles and set backs; but when you overcome them, it makes that end goal so much more worth it!

I know it sounds cliché, but I hope that each and everyone of my readers will do what makes them happy and not stop until they have achieved their dreams.

Breaking Down Barriers

A story of how traveling brings you closer to strangers.

As an avid traveler, sharing my experiences and stories is so exciting to me!  The ultimate story experience is when you can connect with someone from that country and build a relationship because you understand their culture and have seen their country.

In this edition of the Peace Stamps newsletter, I want to share with you an interaction that really resonated with me.  At the end of August, I took a cruise to hit four Caribbean island countries, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Antigua & Barbuda, Saint Lucia, and Barbados.  My father was lucky enough to join me on this cruise! On the cruise ship, my father and I sat with two couples at dinner.  One of the couples lived in California and were Vietnamese.  Over the next seven days, we spent a lot of time talking at dinner and getting to know each other.  My love of traveling became a topic of discussion one evening and through our discussion the most amazing thing happened!

The couple opened up to me and the dinner table about how they immigrated to the United States.  It is an amazing story about how they escaped from communist Vietnam and lived on a remote island in Indonesia for an extended period of time!  They had to live off of canned food and had no electricity.  The only belongings to their name were what they could fit in a backpack!  They also shared their experiences after they immigrated into the United States and about how hard it was for them to assimilate.  People would make fun of their accents and inability to speak English.  I was really touched by how they opened up about their experiences and I don't believe this would have happened had I not been to Vietnam and started talking about their culture with them.

I realize that not everyone has the means to travel the world, but it is experiences like this that make me truly believe that if people put in an effort to understand other cultures, we would be heading in the right direction towards a peaceful world!

Positivity

Let’s Focus on the Positives

With so much bad going on in the world right now, it is easy to generalize and say the world is a bad place, but that is not the case.

Over the past few weeks, I have been able to experience what is occurring in the United States from an outsider’s point of view.  Many locals I talk to ask me, “What the heck is going on with your country?”  I often don’t know what to say.  I am at a loss for words because I know that our country is not actually the way it is depicted in international media.  I believe it is not the way national media depicts it either, quite honestly.  I feel that there is too much emphasis on the negative and not enough on the positive.  This week when the terrible events were occurring in Charlottesville, Virginia, there were also a lot of good stories out there.  For instance, the non-profit organization, Life After Hate’s work.  Life After Hate is a non-profit that employs former neo-Nazis and white supremacists to help others renounce their extremism and hateful lifestyles.  The organization “utilizes education, dialogue, and community in order to help extremists realize the root of their hatred.”  Personally, I feel we rarely see stories like this in the mainstream media.  

Another great story this week is about a man who gave up his six-figure salary to go teach at a poor school.  Now 95% of the students have been accepted to top colleges.  How great is that?!?  

In our fast paced world, it is easy to just focus on what the mainstream media tells us.  With so much focus on the negative, it can be difficult and time-consuming to dig for positive news.  I urge you to start focusing on the positives of the world.  One of my favorite places to read positive stories is at www.goodnewsnetwork.org.  I love reading their stories and they always bring a smile to my face.  

In relation to traveling, I often hear from people, “Why are you traveling to [insert country]??? It’s so dangerous!”  The same thing applies to other countries- do your research.  I often find that blogs depict a more accurate picture of what a country is really like.  The media focuses on the negative events in countries when the country is actually full of peaceful people.  This week I wrote a lengthy Facebook post about every person that has made a positive impact on my life so far in this journey.  I encourage you to take three minutes out of your day to read it here.  

There are so many good people out there.  Just remember that and focus on the positive.  My main mission behind Peace Stamps is to bring positivity to the world and share positivity that we may not have the chance to see.  I promise to keep doing that :) 

-Katelyn Jarvis