Education, the world, etc.

I  have just finished  taking part in a Chat with some really good organizations.  Half the Sky Mvmt ‏@Half  10x10 ‏@10x10act, LitWorld ‏@litworldsays, Girls Gotta Run ‏@GirlsGottaRun, Room to Read ‏@RoomtoRead Intelinvolved ‏@Intelinvolved. 


I was amazing to get a chance to talk with people about women's education.  This is a special thing on my heart. When I was in India I spent time volunteering in the schools, nursery and a special school for children and women with special needs.  It was great to see how they are moving forward despite the struggles that they have had.  It was hard to see though that sometimes it was the girls who had the most troubled academically  came from the most troubling backgrounds. It's sad, and show's how the environment impacts the world around us. It's really a cycle if  women are educated they can get better jobs and not only help raise their children in less poverty but they can also get jobs in government and change government policy. 63% of the people who are illiterate are women, there is still inequality in the world but the issue is getting better, we are seeing improvement. 

One day I hope that I can get a job where I can help people, I feel really comfortable in other cultures and would love to work overseas and help people in some way. I don't know how this is going to work out. I'm in the process of applying for my MSW, and had some disappointments along the way but I'm not going to give up.  If I don't get in I will try again. 

Someone said to me today that "the world needs you", and I hope someday to make an impact in people's lives even if it's just by the small stuff, a smile , doing a puzzle with a special needs child, teaching english, helping a child with there homework, talking to a friend who is in distress,  giving someone in India paper , pencils and a sharpener. Sometimes it's the small stuff that make a difference.  

I don't know what God has planned for the rest of my life but I'm trusting in him to give me the direction. I will take it one step at a time, help one person at a time. 

I think if I could do anything in the world, I would be in India helping special needs children.
I find that sometimes the people that society rejects, are the most precious people in the world. No matter who you are , what you've done, what disability you have, there is something special about you, something unique something you can give to the world. 

Last night I watched a movie called Phoenix Dance, http://www.karinafilms.us/phoenix/phoenix_articles.html. It was an amazing story about a man with cancer who lost his leg and is a dancer, he is able to do stuff that I could never dream of doing.  People with disabilities are special and can teach you a lot of stuff.  It's when hard times come and we get through it that we are able to move on and fight and then help other people get through similar situations.  I think it takes someone who has experienced hardship of any kind to truly be able to empathize with other people.   Though I might not understand what it is to be in poverty, I do understand how it feels to feel worthless and like I'm not good enough, that I will never succeed.  I might not understand everything that people have gone through but I can sympathize with their feelings. I can celebrate with their triumphs, listen to them in their heartache. 

Well I better go do homework. I would love to type all day about changing the world , and talk to people about how they are making an impact, but education is important too.

Twitter... and how it helps people.

I have been spending time on twitter and their is some amazing people on their.  If you look up Autism on twitter you will find a lot of great organizations.  Mental health issues in general are on there too. People who have issues are helping one another and helping them get through their issues.  I have read so many good articles through twitter.  One person I am following that is really good is @TheCoffeeKlatch which is special needs radio I am listening right now To a talk with Temple Grandin and there is a whole lot of other information on special needs to and pod casts. Check it out. Another great person to follow is ‏@Life_Tweetss_ or Just stay strong, she is really helpful and encouraging to a lot of people.  I have been using twitter a lot recently and I have found it really helpful and really encouraging. I have been following some amazing people, therapists, people with social work degrees, which gives me insight into that field. I can also follow some of my favourite actors/actresses, which is a side bonus but not the main reason i do it. Their is a lot more to twitter then just following celebrities.  So if you want to learn a lot and meet new people get a twitter account. :)

Butterflies

Today I went to Niagara Falls and I went to the butterfly conservatory.  Seeing the butterflies reminded me about what this blog is all about.  These butterflies flew all around they came in amazing colours, and different sizes. It's like the people of the world, when we go through hard stuff we come out beautiful and we are all different and unique , we all are unique , yet some of us are more similar to others just like the butterflies can be of the same kind.   When we go through hard stuff it shows the beauty we have within us. When the catipillar goes into it's cocoon it seems like the world is over but the world is not over something beautiful is about to occur.  It's interesting the instincts that monarch butterflies fly down to Mexico, it so great instinct and a design of a creator. We like monarchs may go through hard times and long journey but God will direct our path, he has a plan for us even if we don't see it. As he directs the butterflies path he directs are own life and can turn are sorrows into blessings.

Children with Special Needs are Special!!

At work, I sometimes work with a child who is basically non-verbal, I have only heard him say one word.  He uses some sign language. He has a hard time interacting with children and playing simple games.   At first it was hard for me to interact but then one of my fellow workers gave me the advice " Talk to him as if he is any other child." That's hard to do when the child does not talk back, but after spending time with him i realized he communicates in his own ways.  I felt him warming up to me, and when he would take my hand  for a minute that felt special because he was connecting even though that is really hard for him.

I have a passion for working with children with special needs, particularly working with children with Autism. I also babysit two kids one 4 and one 2 the 4 year old has high functioning Autism. It is great to work with him. I have also worked with a five year old boy with Autism in a camp situation and a five year old boy with Autism in a school situations. One summer I tutored a 12 year old boy with Autism. I have also babysat for a family with a boy with Down Syndrome and in high school worked with the Special Olympics at the school. I also had a partner through Best Buddies for one year. In high school i also tutored a girl with Asperger's and I'm happy to say she is doing well and now doing her BA in university. Some people with Asperger's (which is a high functioning form of Autism) are really smart.  I have a  teenage girl who is a friend has Autism i really enjoy talking with her!!  I talk for hours most day with a guy who I'm really close to with Asperger's and I love to get his opinion and to  run stuff by him that I read and listen to about Autism.

I find it amazing that you can learn so much from people with special needs, they are such special people and have a lot to give to this world. Don't take anyone for granted. Everyone is special. Everyone is worthwhile no matter what disability they have whether developmental , mental, or physical.  We all have a place in this world. I love working with children with special needs because I learn so much from them and they inspire me and help me to keep going despite having a bad day.  Children in general are wonderful and I love working with them. Working with children gives me joy.

Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter everyone!!  Today we celebrate Easter in remembrance of the day that Christ rose from the dead. Now if anything  fits with the title caterpillar to butterfly this does.  Jesus died and went into a tomb like a caterpillar goes into his cocoon and he rose again  and has new life just like a butterfly. It's a day to remember how much God has done for us, and how we can rely on him.  Life is a journey and we all have storms but during the storms God will carry us through, it's as if God is the  branch the holds up the cocoon that allows the butterfly to grow.  God will also carry us through the hard times.  No matter what you are going through or how you are struggling if you trust in God he will pull you through.  I have struggled over in my life with a lot of things, but Jesus is my light in my darkness,  the hope in my depression, the strength in my weakness, the joy in my sorrow.  Christ the Lord is Risen Today!! :)  He is alive and he hears us when we pray.

I have been reading a lot about Autism recently, and it's so interesting.  I think people with Autism are amazing people, I know the people I have worked with and met are.   I might have gotten a job at a Children's Residential Home for children with Mental Health issues, Trauma and Developmental Disorders including Autism.  I  really excited about this job and I hope it works out , but I know it's going to be a hard job. It's in the area I want to go into so i really hope it works out.  I love working with children especially children with special needs. I hope it will work out but I don't know if it will.

Wondering what the future will bring....

I have been searching  about the future and wondering what God wants me to do with my life. I have many options.  My options I'm thinking of right now is getting my MSW,  or getting an MA: sociology  & International Development.  I have also thought of going to teacher's collage,  I thought of getting my ECE but I found out if I have my BEd I can teach both at a school and a day care.  I have also been looking at  the collage program , Autism and Behavioural Science, and ECE- Resource teacher.  The positive about teaching is that I can have my summers off, so I can do stuff like go on missions trips and help people around the world.  Or maybe I could go work for Power to Change : Gain, though that would be a lot of office work and only a little bit international experience.  I could go into missions full time and go overseas, or go teach English as a second language. I love kids, I love traveling and helping people.  I want to make an impact in people's lives.  I wish I knew what God wants me to do next, I want to do his will and help people in the process.  I don't even know what I'm going to do this summer.  I have applied to  GAIN for a project to go to India and help people there and share God's love with them.  Though I have no idea if I will get accepted or not.  That's August so i need to find something to do the rest of the summer. Hopefully work and make some money.  I don't care a lot about how much money I make,  but i wanta be able to help people and one way of helping people is through giving money, I also need enough to pay for school and eventually when I move out for a place to live and food.  Unless I do the MA: Sociology & International Development, I won't be going to Guelph, so I will probably be moving out from home.  I like school a lot but I can't stay in school forever, but then again if i become a teacher I will still be in school but getting paid, though I know there are not a lot of teaching jobs, but maybe I could teach overseas and maybe helping people, but I know a lot of people like teacher's from there own country. That's why social work could be good because people need social workers around the world. If I could combine kids and overseas and helping those with special needs or who are in underprivileged situations that would be perfect but I don't know how to  pull that off.