The Significance Of Lending A Helping Hand

The importance and need-based attention necessary for those who need help in this world, is too great a mass for us to ignore. To give aid is good for not only another person's soul, but yours also.

It has only been recently that I started to notice how much I have and still want to dedicate my helping hands to those in need. I never noticed that I love to help people at natural. Throwing change in a guitar case at a train station doesn't do enough justice for me. Whenever friendly disagreements occurred, I was always the one to cease the argument. Whenever family feuds occured, I always remembered asking my mom, why? I received the same response from most of the elders in my family when I brought the question to them. They would all ultimately provide the same unavoidable answer: people just do bad things.

I've done a few things in my prime years. From the few I recall, I served at a kitchen aiding to needy people with STDs, cleaned up a church, painted houses, worked for National Park Services and cleaned national parks, served the public as a lifeguard for 3 summers, tutored students in Math, Spanish, and Latin, volunteered at a nursing home and a soup kitchen, started a penny drive with friends to aid impoverish children. The funds raised were sent to the well-known drive "Pennies for Peace" started by humanitarian and author Greg Mortenson. I was honored to meet and speak with him at a lecture at Northeastern University. 

Greg Mortenson and I 

I have had my share in helping in different fields, but I've always been interested in two. I believe it was around 4th grade, I started to learn about Hitler and decided to do a book report on him. It was a plastic blue folder that I put the report in, I'll never forget. I'm not sure of where my infatuation for the Holocaust started to happen, but I know for a fact that the Holocaust has become my favorite event in history to read about. You know how you often get weary of certain topics in school, or whatever is taught is just not interesting enough to keep you awake and you end up dozing off or forcefully having to do your homework w/o any dedicated interest? Well this was not the case for the Holocaust. In 11th grade, I was chosen to be enrolled in the Facing History class, and I learned so much more from Ms. Freeman, watched so much more, read so much more in books than I believe I even wanted to know about the Holocaust. I got to visit the Holocaust Museum on a trip to D.C. Remarkable. Amazing. Dreadful. Inspirational. For those of who you haven't read "The Diary of A Young Girl" by Anne Frank (which I believe is a prerequisite in elementary school), read it. Also try to obtain "Maus 1" and "Maus 2", great books. Hitler, or what he has done to people, isn't something I can physically help with now since the disaster lies in the past. The only way I see myself helping is virtually taking notice of what has happened to the victims and never forgetting it, reminding the victims and their next generations that I have not forgotten what has happened to their ancestors.

I take a general interest in genocides and love to read about them, though it's not something I'm ever elated about. The second is human trafficking, the sexual slandering and abuse of women and children. I don't know why my heart falls so heavy for these victims. Not that I don't feel for other types of victims, but this really gets to me. Human Trafficking is a great movie. It often comes on Lifetime Movie Network, watch it if you can.

For my readers, it's okay to be able to help with something, you don't have to help with all as much as you would want to, but do help. It's always much easier to help something/someone you're most passionate for because you will show true, thorough dedication for whatever it is you're providing help for. This is the case for sexually abused women/children and me. Now I know what you're wondering, has Bianca ever been sexually abused? No, I haven't, but my passion lies deep for them. 

I'm reading "Strength In What Remains" by Tracy Kidder right now. It is because of this book why I decided to put it down for a minute and write this blog entry.  It's been 15 minutes and I'm on my 5th paragraph, that's how much adrenaline is causing me to type this fast. This book is a must read. I'm not even done yet, and I'm telling you all that you MUST read this book. Escaping multiple genocides in Africa, making Central Park's grass your bed at night time, getting paid $15 a day by a store owner that pokes you with a stick like you're a slave, to become a Columbia University undergraduate, Dartmouth graduate, and a doctor -- and then GOING back to help the same place where you ran from. This book is too much, I can't wait to finish this entry so I can attend back to this reading.

Though I said human trafficking is the issue where I believe my help is needed the most, I also take notice of the place my culture derives from. My soul contains too much pride for Jamaica for me not to help a place and people that clearly needs help. It's always found easier to help where one comes from. I see it done all the time. I witness people immigrating to America, making money and doing better than they were in their country, then returning back to their country to help improve it. This often happens because one personally realizes what it took to get through hard times back home, the trying circumstances one had to go through before being able to have a well-to-do life in America. My parents are sole examples of this and it is in their footsteps that I want to follow.

All my life I've read, heard, and watched about tragedies, local and world. I always said to myself that I wish I had the opportunity to relive in some of these times, just to see what it was like, to experience what so many people experienced, but I can't. I really wish I did have that opportunity though, believe me. Because honestly and truly I can never fully understand what some people went through, and I have to respect that a lot of victims become upset at people like me who "think" they know, but really don't. That respect that they want is absolutely necessary, and they are right, I don't know. However, that gives me all the more reason to help out in any possible way I could. All the more reason that I WANT to help. As far as I know we are all humans, yet someone else had to suffer an experience that I did not have to. It's not fair. Life is not fair, and I feel bad all the time. I can be there, I'll listen, I'll do anything to put a smile on your face, make you feel loved, make you realize how worthy you are and how much better life can be with positivity in your vision. Take my helping hand.

I want to do more. I know that everyone has the potential to help someone, anyone. A lot of people do not realize how good the after feeling is of helping someone, even during.  It's something that you need to experience in order for you to understand, and it becomes addictive. It's not only a self-accomplishment, but it's the mere thought of actually helping someone who needs it. Even if it's picking up something someone dropped, holding the door for a stranger, to the more broader things such as building schools or even having helping careers such as firefighters, it's all too good not to do. Start off small, if you will.  I promise that the feeling will be self-satisfying. There's no better reward in life to know that you actually helped someone, possibly even saving their life in the long-run.

There are tons of ways to volunteer. Write "volunteer in *the city you live*" in the search engine (Google) and you'll get an infinite amount of results. Craigslist also works for me. If you're in school, go to your guidance counselor or adviser and find out what you can do. Pay attention to your school's website. Take notice of what's going on in the world and see how you can help. Donate a few dollars to a worthy cause. There is so much to do, there are so many people to help.