Wednesday, March 21, 2012

The Journey Thus Far

We have just arrived in New Orleans! This is the city I have looked forward to the most.I am very curious to see how the city has recovered from Hurricane Katrina. Tomorrow we are going to tour the 9th ward. From what the coordinators have said, the damage from Katrina is still very apparent. I think the tour will be an incredibly eye-opening experience.

Throughout this journey, I have learned about a side of humanity that is glossed over in our textbooks: a side of hatred. The word 'hate' is often casually tossed around in our everyday lives. This is not the hate in which I am referring. I am referring to the type of hate that makes people oppress, torture, and murder other human beings. This is the type of hate that takes hold of a person and changes them. This is the type of hate that is passed on to little children.  I am overwhelmed by how absolutely cruel humans can be to one another when they have such deep rooted hatred in their hearts.

However, I am also amazed at how humans have the capacity to heal from this hatred and to forgive. Every single one of the presenters we heard from shared stories that illustrated healing, forgiveness, and moving forward. All of the stories had a common theme: we have the power to change our present.


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