 Katie L
Hamilton, ON
Jul 27, 2009
What I Left Behind
Editor's Note: Katie is currently a student who is entering grade 12. She has struggled with a physical disability all her life. Every day she is in pain however, she walks around with a smile and has the face of an angel. Katie decided that she would participate in a mission trip to the poor. She was nervous about it because of her health, however wanted desperately to reach out and help the poor. This is the reflection she wrote upon returning from her journey. When you witness her gratitude you see the divine that dwells within her. She is an awesome inspiration!
“Love the life you live, live the life you love”
I’ve never been one of those kids who knew what they wanted to do since they were in kindergarten. I want to be a doctor, I want to be an artist, and I want to be an astronaut... Through the DREAMS experience I still don’t know what I want to do as a career but, it led me to new interests and taught me new things. DREAMS has taught me that I want to see the world, I want to be exposed to new things and experiences, I want to feel the struggle that people are constantly living in, I want to learn, and I want to teach.
I was born with a physical disability which effects my left limbs, there’s not a day that goes by where I am not in pain and nor will there ever be a day I live where there is no pain. It’s not something that can be changed or go away, I will always have my disability. I think having a disability is the best thing that could have ever happened to me because I see things completely different from the average person. Most of the time I forget about my leg and my arm until I can feel someone’s eyes following me but like everything, you get use to it. I am very fortunate to receive good health care like every other Canadian, seeing the hospital for treatment nearly every two months.
The Dominican Republic health care system is not comparable to the Canadian, and that’s the saddest thing that I’ve learned. The fact that only 60% of child delivery takes place in a hospital setting with the assistance of doctors or nurses depresses me. I have become aware that there are other large issues that exist within the Dominican Republic other than healthcare such as poverty, famine and education system. The biggest thing that I took from my experience in the Dominican was being grateful for the life that you have. Yes, I was given a leg that limits me sometimes to even simple things like walking but, there are others that are worse off than I am, and I should be thankful for what I have, two legs and two arms.
I’ve learned I should be in creditably thankful for the life that I was given because it’s a good life. Due to my disability I wasn’t going to participate in DREAMS because I thought that I wouldn’t be physically capable. I got nothing but support and enthusiasm when I told Mr. Morrison and Chaplin Tassi, the founders of DREAMS, that I wanted to be a part of the DREAMS experience. They replied by saying you are perfect for the programs, and there the DREAMS experience began.
Alterations were made when we were in the Dominican Republic for me, as a pose to building I was fortunate to be able to spend my week at the local school in the village. I was teaching English, observing the class and playing with the children at recess. It was without any exaggeration the best week of my entire life. I absolutely loved working with these children. This experience answered the question that I have been struggling with, what do you want to do with your life’ I answer with make people aware of the issues that exist in the world today, the issues in the Dominican Republic and the issues in all developing countries. To be honest I really don’t know how I am going to accomplish this yet. All though it could be through writing, teaching or law but, this is what I want to do with my life.
I got to experience the real life of the average Dominican for 5 days and I loved every minute of it, I got to make friends with the Dominicans and meet new and interesting people. The Dominicans have very little; they have things that they need like a pair of shoes and clothes, where we have 50 pairs of shoes and a wardrobe that could last a month without repeating. Although this is hard to comprehend this is the real life of an average Dominican.
I will never forget the experience that I had in those very Mountains in that very village. I won’t forget the people, those faces; it’s something that cannot be forgotten even if I tried. It’s hard because not a day goes by where I don’t think about those children in the village, where I don’t think about what they learned today, where I don’t think about what they had to overcome today. Although my life moves on from the Dominican, it is forever changed but, what will not change is the memory of those children that lay in my heart. Not a day goes by when I don’t think of what I left behind. |
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