Giving Back, But Also Giving To Yourself

At the end of May, I will be embarking on a very special trip to Honduras as a part of a student-led group called the Stony Brook Global Medical Brigade. Approximately 40 of us dedicated students will travel down, with a carry-on of our own clothing, and a full-sized suitcase of donated medicines, toys, clothing, and other items.

Once there, we will arrive at a compound for training in providing basic medical care, as well as administrative duties so that on the 3rd day, we can be shipped to a rural mountain village to set up a free medical clinic for people who have no other access to things that we in America take for granted.

As a group, we have raised over $57,000 to cover airfare and the expenses of medications and doctors, a remarkable achievement, for a mixed group of college students.

Some people (not many) have asked me, "Why are you going on this trip when you're not even Pre-Med?"

I find this question to be very misdirected. Yes, one consideration when doing charity work should always be what benefits you yourself get out of it, but just because I don't want to be a doctor, it does not mean that I can't benefit from this experience.

For one thing, humans are really just big apes, and if I want to learn how to be a veterinarian for wild animals, at least some of the skills will cross over. And secondly, I am hoping to get something other than an activity to mark down on my résumé out of this. I want to see the world, and experience a culture and lifestyle that is about as far-removed from my own cushy middle-class life as possible. I want to push my boundaries, and to feel a little uncomfortable in a land where I don't really speak the language. And most of all, I want to prove to myself that through all of this, I can still form a connection with people, and that goodwill transcends the language and culture barriers that human civilizations set up.

Maybe I'm just being cliché, but I really do believe that helping others is one of the healthiest things you can do for your own mental and spiritual well-being. I know that this will be a life-changing experience for me, because it is my full intention to make it a life-changing experience for me. Too many people these days want to sit in the back seat and just coast along, waiting for big events to happen and change them, but that isn't how it works. I want to be the driving force of change in my own life, and if it means needing to get several series of vaccinations and malaria pills, then so be it.

Mahatma Gandhi said "Be the change you wish to see in the world." What he forgot to mention was that you also have to be the change you wish to see in yourself.

If you're interested in helping out in our last push for fundraising efforts, or just learning more about the brigade, please visit Our Fundraising Page. I have already surpassed my individual goal, so donate to the brigade in general, rather than on behalf of me in particular. I will be sure to post after the trip, so that you can see the good that everyone's money has facilitated!