One recent good deed involves volunteering for a local neighborhood group. Currently I am in charge of social marketing and taking minutes for the Green Hill Neighborhood Association in Worcester, MA. We plan different activities to bring people together to make a better community.This month we celebrated Earth day by picking up trash in our neighborhood. It feels great to be part of the solution!
I'm participating because I believe that there is more good than evil, more love than hate, and negative labels certainly can have an effect on people. You can choose to fit in the box of the label or you can break out of it. Some labels are forced onto you - fight it! Education is the key. As a student and now as an educator, I find that KNOWLEDGE truly is empowering and can help you overcome the labels. If I were to follow all the labels that society has created for someone like me, I would not have finished school or realized that I belong to my community just as much as anyone else does. I'm proud of my family and Puerto Rican heritage, and I was born here in the United States of America - this is my home (that's why I choose American as my nationality). I don't think anyone should feel more entitled to be here than anyone else because of the way our country was created. If we are going to use labels, let's use positive ones to remind people of the good in them and not the evil; or better yet, try not using labels at all before you really know someone. Peace, Michelle.
