¿Cómo se Dice "Ticket" en Español?

    It is within our culture to find a sense of normality and adhere to it. To be overly expressive, boisterous, or exceptionally eccentric in any aspect of life would be socially condemning. However, I believe that it is in the flaws of the individual and the exceptions to ordinary in which true humanity is found. My latest obsession has been the book Winesburg, Ohio. The author, Sherwood Anderson, weaves together the connections between human interactions and the flaws of the individual. Subtitled, The Book of the Grostesques, Anderson identifies the fantastically absurd aspects of society expressing that through the absurdities, we find relationship in one another. The book has made me think about my own grotesque presence, although seemingly monstrous; the act of being grotesque, in reality, unites humanity itself.

            At times, I am inflexible, illogical, judgmental, and absorbed in my own self-importance and I admit this willingly because I know I am not alone. Reading the newspaper in the morning paints the flaws of our community vividly: Egypt is burning, Haiti has been forgotten, and Africa is suffering. The reality seems inevitable; we are grotesque. But when is enough, enough? When are we obliged to draw the line? At what point do our needs become more or less important than those of others? Studying Hinduism the other day I read an old story of a yogi.

 "As he sat meditating on the banks of the Ganges, (the yogi) saw a scorpion fall into the water. He scooped it out, only to have it bite him. Presently, the scorpion fell into the water twice more, whereupon a bystander asked the yogi, ‘Why do you keep rescuing that scorpion when its only gratitude is to bite you?’ The yogi replied: ‘It is in the nature of the scorpions to bite. It is in the nature of the yogis to help others when they can.’”

            The importance of our needs is a matter of perspective. A wise aunt always tells me, “Our needs are just as important to us as others needs are to them.” Reflecting on my choice in education, I am called to a greater responsibility. I am double majoring in Psychology and English with a minor in Social Justice at the University of Portland. This says something more than I will be working pretty hard for the next four years as an undergraduate. Psychology means I am learning to listen to others. To make an assessment and help my greatest tools will be my heart and my ears to hear their needs. English, the major that is never paid, holds exceptional responsibility. It is with an English major that I take ownership over my words. The weight of what I say, how I articulate what I feel, and the choices I make with language carry credence. When I chose to be an English major, I chose to tell the world, “I think about what I say, and therefore, listen to me. Judge my words with a sense of harshness and question my validity.” Social Justice allows me to question the world and to gain political savvy to accompany raw emotions that are complements to the world’s pain.

            This summer, I am striving towards a change in my perspective. My needs are important; I have recognized that. Empathizing with my community, globally, is a step in broadening my perspective. For a month, I will be traveling to Costa Rica and working to influence the lives of people outside of myself. In a community that has been forgotten, children are hungry, and thirsting for knowledge; knowledge that I have. I will be there for a month teaching. I am writing to you to ask for your loving support. Your support will help me to gain a new perspective, and give something that I think is perhaps indefinable. In an effort to shed light on the grotesque, this is the step I am taking and I invite you to be a big part of it.

            In the early 18^th century novels never ended with “the end”. The Italian influence was still carried out and when the reader came to the word “Finis”, they knew it had ended. As the 18^th century progressed, the Romantic era became outdated and writers made stating “The End” or “Finis” obsolete. Plato argued in his Republic that poets should be cast off from society because they caused the people to question, to find the grotesque in a society that couldn’t see it. The poets of the 18^th century are ahead of us in this respect. This summer I am taking “The End” out of my vocabulary. There will not be an end to service, to loving those that need it most, to using my life to make a change. I am thankful for your support and will carry you in my heart as I learn what it means to be a servant for service.