Every person on the planet lives a different walk of life. Some live in extreme wealth in a first-world country, and some live wondering when their next plate of food is served. The world has a lot of issues, and it’s up to those who can combat these issues to bring change. When I was 15, an incident occurred at my high school which resulted in me going through a very traumatic event, and I still live with many of the scars from said incident to this day. But with that event, I decided that I would not let my own trauma label me a victim. I remember a month after the Parkland shooting, I attended my first protest in Manhattan marching alongside 10s of thousands of others to demand there be better gun control in our nation. From then, I linked up with other organizations that helped shed light on a wide variety of issues, ranging from climate change to sexual misconduct to police brutality and more. I also gave up many hours during the warmer months to tend to a garden in a majority black and often underserved community in my borough. I dedicated many hours of my week to attending protests, rallies, vigils, and meetings with various organizations to aid them in what I believed could be right for many people. Nowadays, I am not as active as I was in high school, but I still make the effort to help out in food drives in underserved communities, aid friends and associates with the problems they struggle with in their lives and try to better myself as a human being through my actions. For me, when I see people making change in their community, I see it through the lens of how they are able to help out one person, a group of people, or an entire community. I intend to use a large portion of the earnings I make in my career path to aid in many causes around the world that need attention, and I encourage all who can give a little bit to do the same. Hopefully there will be one day where many of the conflicts that arise in this world come to cease.
Ian Fernandez November Blog
- Being the change
- How do I make a change in my community? By Renee J.