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Find Your Smile: KEEP THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE


#SoManyReasonsToSmile2020
“Sometimes, you need to look at life from a different perspective.”

Back in the summer of 2008, just after I completed my first year teaching, I went on my very first humanitarian trip. Many of the challenges I faced throughout my first year as an educator came as a result of me struggling to understand my students and their families who came from diverse backgrounds. So, in addition to reading books and watching movies to learn about other cultures, I thought a humanitarian trip would be a great opportunity for me to step outside my comfort zone and to gain more insight into the world, outside Canada. 

Building project in the Dominican Republic
As it's to be expected, the 4 humanitarian trips I joined, in the Dominican Republic and in Peru, really did help me develop a broader perspective on life. While travelling to both countries, I had the opportunity to visit several communities, to spend time in orphanages, to work in schools, to collaborate in building projects and to experience sifting through a garbage dump for recyclables, a daily occurrence for several Haitians living in the Dominican Republic at the time. To this day, I still consider myself so incredibly blessed to have experienced those trips and to have connected with various people from all walks of life, because as a result, I was led to be more empathetic, more compassionate and more humble, and to see life so differently from that point on. Amongst all the lessons I took in, I truly realized how privileged I was (and still am) and I learned that “happiness” can be interpreted in so many different ways.


Looking for recyclables at a garbage dump in the Dominican Republic

Over the last few months, as the world has dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic, I have experienced some "tough" days, just like most people I would assume. Then again, I have been well aware that there are people out there that have faced MUCH more challenging moments than me. Every so often, I’ve reminded myself of how lucky I am: to be safe, to be healthy, to have a job, to have a place to live, to have access to food and water...Even more, I've reflected on what I could do to support others who may really be suffering through all of this and I've tried to lend a bit of a helping hand.

Playing soccer on a dirt "pitch" in Peru

Once in a while (not only during the COVID-19 pandemic), when things aren’t quite going the way we would like them to, it’s worth taking a step back and changing the way we look at things. We should always consider the situation from different points of view; put ourselves in others' positions and imagine what they might think and feel about the situation. Furthermore, we should appreciate what we have, rather than dwell on what we don't have (and probably don't need) and remind ourselves that there are much bigger problems in the world.

Young girl playing near a polluted river in the Dominican Republic
“The things you take for granted, someone else is praying for.”

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