My Commitment

I will try to have peace in every aspect I carry. My short term goal to create peace within myself and my surroundings will conclude no violence. I do have friends that get into fights with other people and family, and I will try my best to communicate with those in particular and give them my best understanding. I, for one, will not tolerate violence between my family. I am grateful to have a family and I will not degrade them in any way. I will respect my goals, my body, my spirit. No one shall rupture what I have and what I will accomplish.My long term goal to create peace within myself and my surroundings will conclude sharing the peace I have with others. When I get older, I will always remember to never create unnecessary problems and that kind of mentality will spread to my peers. My family will learn from me and eventually many people will understand the useless point in creating issues and violence when it is not worth living it everyday.

Inner Peace

Peace is the freedom of disturbance. Every human being needs to accomplish inner peace first in order to conquer the peace that is happening on the outside. We, as individuals, want inner peace to live with happiness. I do believe inner peace consists of loving yourself, living everyday to the fullest, content with the choices we make, integrated with family, and having the desire and determination to do what we want out of life. There should not be any violence or hatred inside us. We all live every day with hope to accomplish our goals. We can never love someone else until we love ourselves. Living everyday is a gift we are given; do not take that gift for granted. Everyone makes choices every single day. It is our job to make sure we make the right choice for US; not anyone else. Family is the most sacred token; we must cherish this gift every day and know that we have support from our own blood. Every person carries dreams and goals. If we are on the right path, we will achieve anything we desire. These aspects pertain to inner peace; we are happy with ourselves and our surroundings.

Egypt Collapsing (Op-ed)

As Egyptians wonder why the crisis is destroying their country, I have the answer. Egypt has only had one presidential election in all the history of their country. Every president that has taken office in Egypt has been passed down the job by others in the administration office. Egypt obviously does not believe in the word democracy. Democracy is a form of government in which all citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. There is definitely a problem with this presidential process in Egypt.

            Democracy has partaken in the American lives for a very long time. The United States has always been a democracy country where the people have the ability to voice their opinion, especially voting. I am a U.S. Citizen and I, for one, am grateful in being a part of the majority that chooses who will run the country I live in. Justice for the people will bring peace in many aspects. If there is no justice for the power of the people, then numerous amounts of issues will rise.

            Egypt obviously does not believe in open fair elections. These elections give people a chance to have a voice. It gives justice to those individuals living in their country. Whoever wins the president’s office, it is victory in a fair game. The people that chose the opponent know majority wins. Therefore, there is nothing they can do to change the outcome.        

            But, if the position is GIVEN to that person, then problems are created. Egypt had Mubarak running office since 1981. Mubarak was never wanted in office, but he was given the job. For years, Egyptians wanted him to resign. Well, they made it happen. They protested all over Egypt, creating violence and losing $300,000 every day.

            According to Richard Sisk, many protestors were killed and wounded when police open fired on a massive crowd demanding the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak. These kinds of issues in countries can lead to disasters in the economy. What causes these disasters are the people in their country that are not able speak their voice. Egypt will keep being destroyed until the power of the people will be taken in action.

            Elections will have the country at peace. The people are what keeps the country together since they are the ones that live through it every single day. If the people are not content and are not able to voice their opinion in elections, then the country will not have peace for a while. Peace will be brought upon them until democracy jumps in and takes control. 
 Audience: "Readers of the Prospector" 

           

Live Life to the Fullest

I never understood the reason why people can be so homophobic. I do believe every person on this earth is a human being who deserve to be whoever they want to be in life. Everyone has different tastes in all aspects and if some of those people wish to be gay, lesbian, or bi sexual then so be it. It is very unfair for those to live a difficult life because of what they are interested in. I can understand one thing, and that is those people who are homophobic have had a bad experience with gays but that does not give a reason to treat them badly. People need to appreciate the gift of life that everyone is given and every single person has the luxury to do whatever they want. I am for gay marriages because at some point, everyone falls in love and wants to spend the rest of their lives with their soul mate. It doesn't matter whether it is with a boy or girl. I for one will be with that one man that will make me happy every day and I am sure other people cherish that in their lives and will do whatever it takes to find that one person. We are all here to live life to the fullest everyday and we do not need to waste time in judging others.

A Revolution in Egypt?

Egypt is currently dealing with an uprising. Their government is pretty much corrupted and the people are protesting constantly. Egypt had a very powerful leader before the issues began. His name was Husni Mubarak. After he died, the country started having many problems with the government and the people. The people started noticing how these problems went to cause and it lead to not having their leader anymore. Obviously, this type of tragedy can destroy a country little by little, but they are trying to keep the country as stable as possible. There is a huge difference on how the country is functioned right now than from many years back. Before, they were  doing just fine, of course there is always issues in every government. But, up to this point, these issues have become so big that the country might be enduring a Revolution. I feel this is a frightening problem for the people because it can lead to extreme violence in the cities. Violence has already begun in their country, but more of thousands of people dying is what can happen. This can make people move to different countries for stability and security. These people will not want to live in a place where it can lead to danger to themselves and especially their families.

Creativity For Peace

To: 1311 Students

From: Victoria Valencia

Re:

Date: February 13, 2011

            The Creativity for Peace is an organization that interacts with teenage girls. The girls they work with are Jewish, Israeli, Palestinian Isralei, West Bank, and Gaza Palestinians. Obviously, there is a variety of teenage girls who they connect with in order to nurture “the next generation of female leaders and peacemakers in Israel and Palestine.”

            The organization’s vision is to be committed to a time of peace when people and nations coexist by understanding and respecting each other. This consists of the understanding of one another’s cultures, religions, and traditions. They want to develop the next generation of female leaders and peacemakers in Israel and Palestine, who will make a difference in the world.

            The organization’s mission is to use the leadership they learn on significant roles in their families, communities, and countries that advance peaceful coexistence. It seems this organization is a “pay it forward” type. They pass on their knowledge to others to make the world a better place.

            The strategies they use consists of summer camps in New Mexico, home country gatherings, Young leader training, and academic scholarships. These strategies help the teenage girls learn the deeper understanding of self, skills for resiliency and self-empowerment, reducing prejudice and healing the trauma of war, public speaking, and putting skills to use with peacemaking organizations and projects.

            The income this organization receives is contributions by individuals, family, community foundations, and businesses. The dedication to this organization shows the commitment in changing lives for teenage girls.

            One of the programs they have for their camps and gatherings is called Dialogue. It develops trust, compassion and increased self-esteem. It releases judgments and expand their points of view, and transforms their relationships with the “other.” It acknowledges and releases their fear, anger, and pain. It breaks down old beliefs through authentic speaking and compassionate listening and develops communication and leadership skill. It helps them understand the basics of conflict, transformation, and resolution. It strengthens Jewish and Arab coexistence in their own communities. Dialogue is specifically for the understanding of another’s point of view which can create conflict. All these practices help them become true leaders.

            The accomplishments these girls have achieved are the friendships that thrive as participants, the creation of new relationships that cross religious and cultural boundaries, and the development of leadership skills.

            This organization has changed the lives of young woman and even the people they cooperate with. One young woman in particular named Michal. She is a Jewish Israeli and she had nothing but great comments to say about the Creativity for Peace. She specifically said, “If someone tells you that peace between Israel and Palestine is not possible, don’t believe them. I accomplished it!” This proves the wonderful experiences these young women have in order to change their lives as well as others.

            Creativity for Peace has upcoming events. There is a volunteer event on February 22^nd called “Dialogue: What Happens?” On April 13, there is another event called “A Land Twice Promised.” From July 15 to August 5, there is a 2011 Summer Camp in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The last event shown is the Camp Open House on Sunday, July 31.

            This organization will keep its success running because of all the accomplishments and participation people have gained from it. “The Courage to Lead. The Promise of Change.”

             

           

Peace Across the World

The video we just saw is about the poverty that is happening right now in Central Asia. There are many poor families that barely make it through the day. The education level is very low since there is really no profession in going to college. They try their best in educating the small ones with STDs, math, English, condoms, and so forth. Their culture is very different from ours, of course. According to theirs, they accept people by serving 3 cups of tea. The first cup is getting to know them at first like a stranger. The second cup is being actual friends. The third is being a part of their family. That usually takes years to receive a third cup of tea. The whole point is to help their families in everything. They need food, water, education, medications, and, in other words, a much better life. I do believe there are many people in this world that can help the poverty in Central Asia. Greg Mortenson is that one person that is making a difference in Central Asia. He is changing lives, which is incredible. It is very time consuming and it does take much dedication to endure this kind of work. Education is a huge key to success. These children barely receive opportunities to learn new ideas and thoughts. We, who are in college, are receiving an education with open arms. We have the capability to be whoever we want to be. But, the children in Central Asia do not have these kind of opportunities that we are given.

Importance of Peace

I believe peace is the correct word to consider in living day by day with the people we love. The people in the world need to accept that peace is what keeps everyone together and doesn’t cause problems towards enemies or loved ones. Peace creates the family unit of respect and unity that we cherish with us as we progress throughout our lives. There are many people that do not have this in their blood. Therefore, they have a difficult time receiving and giving respect towards others. There are not too many people in this world who want to practice the word of peace. Some people don’t even know what it actually means but those are the ones that have harsh moments in life. Peace also gives the relaxation towards stress and hard obstacles that approach you. The whole point is to try to overcome that obstacle that is handed to you randomly and see how strong you are to cope with it. Peace gives that trust to help a person get through it. Problems are going to happen daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. It is our job to help break the ice and use peace appropriately. Always try to be thankful for your parents. Live every day like it was your last. Always keep the friends you love.