Clouds in Your Eyes June 9, 2011
Losing grip, that’s what it’s called,
when you feel as though you’re falling.
The ground stays still, but your mind whirls –
hoping, explaining, stalling.
Nothing compares to how you dream,
thinking of the future, coming fast.
But if you rush it and only fear,
nothing will ever last.
The love of your life stands before you,
offering a stable hand.
Taking it means trying
to silence all you can.
In hopes that you will make it,
you try and change your life.
But hoping is never enough,
when working through your strife.
Hard work lies ahead for those who care
and the others that are never there.
They all dream but never see,
the thoughts that they all spare.
Falling in love or falling apart,
a lyric in a song.
But falling can be good sometimes,
although it may feel wrong.
Hold me tight and don’t let go,
like you might your dreams.
Value me as much as your values
and this will never have to cease.
Loving hurts, but loving heals
as I have found today.
A one true love will not be lost,
since love will find a way.
ONE Campaign: Official. March 1, 2011
The Emmanuel College Student Government Association (SGA) has officially voted to recognized the ONE Campus Challenge as a campus club. Although I will probably not go for special funding to put on large scale events during this challenge, we now can get a link on the website and be mentioned in greater detail all around campus! I have emailed for a bulletin board, which incoming students will see as they tour the campus, and have begun looking for a place to hold our weekly meetings.
Even once this season of the challenge is over, I will still have our club meet to discuss what we can try to do next year in case it is similar to this year’s competition. The executive board will be meeting probably Thursday night so that we can talk about how we want to approach the club. Although this first official meeting will probably just be in my room, I will make sure to document it! I am also hoping to get posters approved by Thursday night and hang them for students to see Friday and then Sunday till the meeting when they come back from Spring Break. I know personally I will spend some of Spring Break organizing myself in order to provide everyone with a fantastic ONE challenge for the rest of this year and for years to come!
Next year we can ask for a budget from the SGA as early as the fall semester to begin promoting and meeting.
ONE Campaign: Agenda. February 25, 2011
As of noon today, Emmanuel College is officially on its way to having its own, official, ONE chapter. Mr. Dan Darcy, from Student Activities, and I had our second meeting in which I handed him 30 students’ signatures saying they approved of this club being founded on campus, our constitution, our advisor’s name, and list of officers.
I am tempted to update and add these officers online now but also do not want to before we are officially a club — however, I just might since they have been doing a tremendous amount of work as well! The officers will be as follows: myself (President/Campus Leader), Nichole Adams (VP), Sarah Ribeiro (Press Secretary), Banessa Alfaro (Treasurer), and Fermin Hernandez and Anthony Ferranti (Public Relations). I know that they will all do a fantastic job.
The only piece left to fufill is to present ourselves to the Student Government Association (SGA) and have them vote on our club/whether to allow us to form on campus. We can then special fund for events or wait more so until next season to do large scale events (and give ourselves some prep time). However, we will still be setting up a table and asking people to sign this year.. hopefully we can just keep doing better and better!
ONE Campaign: Busy Bees February 18, 2011
Suddenly, after a whole semester of wishing I had more to do, I find myself busier than a bee; I am running all over campus to meet with professors, clubs, plan meetings, and do our radio show — as well as attend class. Similar to when I was in high school, I procrastinate and leave my homework till the last minute. Believe it or not, the situation is not that I completely do not care for my grades, but rather that I do not feel my good grades will help change the world or make a true difference. I am hoping to meet with Dan Darcy at the beginning of next week. We have chosen our Executive Board and I have filled out that section, as well as the description section, of the paperwork. However, my potential faculty advisor needs to know a bit more about ONE before she agrees to put her name down on the paperwork. Therefore, I am meeting with her tomorrow morning and hoping she will agree to be advisor.
The chances of Emmanuel winning this year are extremely slim since we may not have our club or special funding approved at all, let alone in time for the weekly challenges. However, I am not incredibly dissapointed; I am proud of myself and my friends for starting what will hopfully be a tradition of service to the world for Emmanuel College in Boston. Since we only need five more student signatures, finishing the rest of the paperwork will be as simple as knocking on doors this weekend.
Fingers crossed for our faculty advisor.
ONE Campain: Challenge February 15, 2011
We are close to having some success with ONE here on campus at Emmanuel College in Boston, MA. We are still working on getting the signatures we need on the official forms and having the club approved over all, but things are looking pretty good for us to at least stay active throughout this season — next year, we may have a better chance!
I just noticed that we received 200 points for being one of the top 20 recruiters during the first challenge, which is quite a step up from not truly existing. The school has been supportive of the idea of creating this club… and we welcome the help. I am trying to remain positive and motivated to continue planning events, searching for special funding and pursuing the goal of ONE.
Hopefully, starting either next Monday or the Monday after, we can begin announcing ONE on our radio show, getting a link posted on the college’s webpage, and planning events for the whole campus — beginning with a table in the atrium to get more signatures and such. I still have the poster draft saved on my computer… so hopefully we can get the points from electing our E-board, press secretary, and the links on the webpage.
The support is still there.. I think we are just all becoming busy with class and realizing that we have more priorities than we would like to try and keep up with.
ONE Campaign: Signatures. February 10, 2011
Just coming back from my meeting, I feel slightly enthused. Although there are many steps left to being officially recognized on campus as a club, which may cause us to not place as high as we could have this year, we are on our way! The forms require 30 signatures, which will hopefully not be difficult since we have already recruited that many students this season. My friend is currently taking the paperwork to her math class so that she can try to get even more signatures there. After that, we need to meet with the same man again and then go in front of the SGA (Student Government Association) to present our reasoning behind the club and hopefully be voted into existence.
What I have been trying to make clear to my friends, however, is that whether we are approved or not, we can still continue to get signatures for a good cause — even though we would never be able to get enough points to win by that means alone. The prize is wonderful, but the cause is even better. As I have said before, I am highly interested in diseases worldwide and even just included that subject in a paper I wrote for the professor who will hopefully become our faculty advisor.
I have always wanted to change the world; I do not have to have nice things or riches to want that. I am from what is probably barely considered a middle class family — a girl who is on loans and vast amounts of financial aid and scholarships to remain at this school — when children elsewhere do not even have a chance when it comes to schooling or sometimes even living. Change is worth it, change is the real prize.
ONE Campaign: Juggernaut. February 8, 2011
Moving Forward and the Effects of ONE Goal
Emmanuel College has officially begun showing its support for the ONE campaign! As Campus Leader, I have set up a date to meet with the one man who could make or break the idea of this becoming an official club on campus. Despite some email malfunctions earlier this week, we have decided to meet Thursday afternoon and discuss the prospect of having a ONE club on school. I have already developed a poster draft and considered who might be elected onto the executive board.
Our Facebook group has proven useful, allowing parents, friends, students, and others to sign up and support not only the cause of ONE but Emmanuel College as we pursue it. My day became extremely promising when I received an email from the Assistant Director of the Marketing department asking if his office could assist the campaign in any way — links/mention in the E-newsletters, on the college twitter page, Facebook pages, and possibly even a link on the school’s webpage! (I agreed that their help would be much appreciated but am simply waiting for the approval of the club before pursuing campus-wide advertisement.)
I have the feeling that we may begin receiving more support from the college than I had originally thought would be offered and that is truly the best feeling I could have hoped for.
The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of tiny pushes of each honest worker. ~Helen Keller
ONE Campus Challenge: Stand-Still February 6, 2011
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is bliss, taste it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.
– Mother Teresa
ONE Campus Challenge: Motion February 3, 2011
WI(RED), INSPI(RED), and the ONE Thing That Could Change the World
Hungry humans cry,
asking for your help. They know
that you are the ONE.
Since I was a small child, helping others has always been something that came naturally to me. I offered crackers to a homeless man instead of the birds and focused my efforts as I grew up on being kind towards others, even if they weren’t always the kindest to me. Everyone has their moments where they lack compassion, but I try to limit mine as best I can. In middle school, I was on the Student Council and collected Pennies for Patients. In high school, I went from a meek freshman to a well-balanced leader for my school; by graduation, I had been the youngest president our Drama Club had ever had, the Student Leadership Team’s VP and Senior Mentor, awarded for my Head Intern duties for the Principal, and was the Treasurer of our school’s NHS chapter. Bouncing around had become habit, especially when I attempted to bring an HIV/AIDs awareness speaker to our school.
Entering college, I was extremely homesick and unsure of my place on campus. Emmanuel College was a nice school, in a big city, and I wasn’t sure that I would stay my four years here. What I craved most of all was a chance to truly help — a club that would view me as a knowledgable student who was also a freshman, not just a freshman. The ONE Campus Challenge has offered me all of what I was craving and given me the chance to help the world in a way much bigger than just myself. In one day, I have found 8 new recruits, gotten two friends to help spread the word and pledge their participation if the club is approved by our college’s activities office, found a willing faculty advisor, emailed old teachers/parents/friends, created a Facebook group and an email address, and moved our school to a spot where it is quickly closing in on the top 20 schools on the Leaderboard.
This offers me the opprotunity to raise awareness and call in the speaker who never was able to present at my high school to speak on campus and offers all students an opprotunity to not only help others but develop skills they will need for the rest of their lives such as public speaking, organization, and networking. I have great hope for Emmanuel College: Boston MA as we set out on this journey and hope that we can truly begin a longlasting tradition on campus that will make a difference in the world.
For readers: JOIN for Emmanuel College: Boston MA at ONE.org/campus and sign the petition for vaccine funding.
It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little – do what you can. ~Sydney Smith
