{"id":32,"date":"2013-11-20T18:46:54","date_gmt":"2013-11-20T18:46:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/nlays\/?p=32"},"modified":"2013-11-20T18:46:54","modified_gmt":"2013-11-20T18:46:54","slug":"the-road-ahead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/nlays\/2013\/11\/20\/the-road-ahead\/","title":{"rendered":"The Road Ahead"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Spectacular sunset over Rio de Janeiro<\/p><\/div>\n

As I sit to write this reflection essay, I pour myself a cup a chai tea, my favorite, and open my computer only to be greeted by my desktop picture of the magnificent sunset from Sugarloaf in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. I find this fitting, for in a similar way the sun is setting on my experience as a Global Social Benefit Fellow. As I bask in the last fleeting moments of sunlight I reflect on the past nine months of my life. These nine months have been filled with times of new academic challenges, personal courage and determination, and profound vocational and spiritual consideration. Unbeknownst to me then, my experiences as a Global Social Benefit Fellow would expose me to some of the harsh realities of the world, but leave me with a sense of hope in humanity\u2019s ability to rally together to address these most pressing issues.<\/p>\n

Entering into the fellowship as a wide-eyed and ambitious junior, I had just returned from a semester in Copenhagen, Denmark. Having the privilege to travel all around Europe I was itching to see what the other corners of the world had to offer. With previous volunteer experience in Latin America and an interest in global health, a partnership with Solar Ear in Sao Paulo seemed like a harmonious combination. Reminiscing on my outlook nine months ago, I now realize that I have vastly different perspectives on the value and skills of impaired communities.<\/p>\n

Before my summer in Brazil I had never engaged in lengthy activities with impaired populations. In fact, I had never spoken to anyone who was blind or had a hearing impairment. I was unsure of how easy or difficult it was going to be to communicate with them. I had no idea how many of these individuals we would be interacting with and what their opinion of us as Americans would be. Within minutes of first meeting some of the Solar Ear employees who were hearing impaired, one mystery was solved: these individuals were incredibly intelligent in ways I could never achieve. One man that struck me with his courage and intellect was Daniel, a twenty-year old who was appointed to be our official sign language teacher. This young man had been severely deaf since birth. Given the opportunity to wear hearing aids he turned them down because he found the overall noise and inability to selectively tune out stimuli frustrating<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a> Top: Daniel teaching our team sign language. Bottom: Solar Ear employees taught us to communicate in creative ways, such a messaging on phones.<\/p><\/div>\n

and distracting. Now, he was a master of languages. Fluent in both Brazilian and American Sign Language, Daniel could also read lips in both Portuguese and English as well as write in both languages. Most remarkably he taught himself all these skills.<\/p>\n

I soon cherished the lessons we received from Daniel. He had a calming presence to him and I found a refuge in the silence of the room, a stark dichotomy from the bustling world outside. Ostracized from his family due to his \u201cinability\u201d to communicate this young man had countless reasons to be bitter and frustrated. His family had rejected him and in a way society had. Music and language are such a part of the culture in Brazil that an inability to fully experience these arts must make a person feel like an outsider.<\/p>\n

Never before had I imaged what life would be like without music. I listen to music as I run, as I wake up in the mornings, and I too confidentially sing along to the radio as I drive. I find refuge and inspiration in music and did not realize the value in that until I imaged my life without it.<\/p>\n

The time we spent with Daniel I fill forever remember clearly, sitting in modest couches in gentle silence as the honks and yells of the outside world carried on without us. His unwavering perseverance and intelligence was overwhelming at times. He taught me to never judge a person or group of people before meeting them. In my own narrow-minded way I had placed preconceived judgments on the hearing impaired community, assuming they may lack social skills or operate at a lower functioning status. I subconsciously and inadvertently predicted that I would have the greater source of knowledge and they would be the learners. I was quickly put in my place. Working with the hearing impaired communities of Brazil made me realize the ways in which all individuals differ in the type of their intelligence, and that no particular type of intelligence is better than the other. Such marginalized communities possess incomparable amounts of human motivation and commitment. Given the right opportunities to apply their skills, these individuals can be the most valuable human capital. Nine months ago I never would have been concerned about such marginalized communities as hearing impaired individuals. But now I see from the inside their struggles and heartaches and unconditionally respect them for their perseverance.<\/p>\n

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Young girl suffering from infections in both legs<\/p><\/div>\n

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Vivacious children I met on Rusinga Island, Kenya<\/p><\/div>\n

With these lessons learned, I turn to face the future. As much as I may wish to never leave college I cannot deny the inevitable. My grandma used to tell me that we are not called upon to do all the good that is possible, but only that which we can do. This is the attitude that is guiding me as I enter the next chapter of this journey called life. With my passion for medicine and global health I have seen a lot of sickness both here in America and all across the world. The circumstances that boil my blood every time are the cases of human suffering that result from preventable situations. The cases where, give the proper resources, better infrastructure or access to information, lives could have been saved or suffering reduced. There is so much sickness in the world that a person would not only go insane but be<\/i> insane thinking they could cure it all. But something can be done about those who suffer from preven<\/i>table<\/i> illnesses. For me I am referring to the young Mayan <\/i>girl I met in Guatemala who lost all function of both legs due to polio because she did not have access to simple antibiotics; to hundreds of children in Kenya and sub-Saharan Africa who die of dehydration because they drink contaminated water and have no way of being re-hydrated; to the mothers and infants who die in childbirth because of complications that arose while giving birth in the dark; to the individuals <\/i>who cannot communicate their symptoms to their doctor because they are deaf. These are all preventable situations. I may not be able to find the cure for cancer, eradicate HIV and AIDS or reverse the damage done by Parkinson\u2019s disease, but perhaps one day I can help eliminate these preventable situations.<\/p>\n

When it comes to combining one\u2019s talents and passions with the greatest needs of the world, my father has set a great example as to how this can be achieved. An avid tennis player since childhood, my father initially pursued this passion by traveling all across Africa and Australia playing in tennis tournaments, living with host families and immersing himself in different cultures. Once back in the United States with a family, he realized the joy tennis brought him and saw a need to spread that passion and happiness to children around the world. With the relationships he maintained while traveling and playing tennis tournaments my dad was able to collect hundreds of tennis racquets here in the United States and take them to children all over the world who needed an activity to motivate them, an activity to challenge them, an activity to keep them out of trouble. For some of these children learning tennis may have been a way into college. For others this activity was an incentive to stay healthy. These children learned the values of discipline and hard work. Meanwhile my dad was simply doing what he loved, but changing the lives of children simultaneously. My whole life my dad has traveled and participated in these tennis camps. He saw a need and stepped in with this talents and passions. That is what I hope to one day look back and say that I have done.<\/p>\n

My experiences this summer have confirmed my interest in medicine and global health and reignited my love for Latin America. Before visiting Brazil I did not know the range of wealth and culture that could exists within one country. I knew nothing of the unique talents and knowledge that hearing impaired individuals employ everyday. Working hard this summer to create a measurement and evaluation that will help Solar Ear expand and impact the lives of hundreds more individuals has given me hope in my ability to apply my interests in a way that addresses the needs of the world. Looking at the road ahead I see a meandering path that may lead me to medical school and hopefully to service in Latin America. When exactly these events may happen is part of what is to be discovered along the way. I may not be able to do all the good that is possible, but I can jump into the future striving to do all the good I am capable of.<\/p>\n

\"Taking<\/a>

Taking the ultimate jump!<\/p><\/div>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I sit to write this reflection essay, I pour myself a cup a chai tea, my favorite, and open my computer only to be greeted by my desktop picture of the magnificent sunset from Sugarloaf in Rio de Janiero, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":536,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"qubely_global_settings":"","qubely_interactions":"","kk_blocks_editor_width":"","_kiokenblocks_attr":"","_kiokenblocks_dimensions":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"gutentor_comment":15,"qubely_featured_image_url":null,"qubely_author":{"display_name":"nlays","author_link":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/nlays\/author\/nlays\/"},"qubely_comment":15,"qubely_category":"Uncategorized<\/a>","qubely_excerpt":"As I sit to write this reflection essay, I pour myself a cup a chai tea, my favorite, and open my computer only to be greeted by my desktop picture of the magnificent sunset from Sugarloaf in Rio de Janiero, … Continue reading →","post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/nlays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/nlays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/nlays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/nlays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/536"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/nlays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/nlays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/nlays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32\/revisions\/36"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/nlays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/nlays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/nlays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}