Official Start Time: 9:25 p.m.
Date: 10/29/08
Official End Time: 11:05 p.m.
The last few days have been great in terms of what's getting done on the site, but not everyone sees it this way. I've been working hard trying to build the community on the website: adding pictures, making videos, groups, and trying to spread the good word. I do all this to give back to Steve, a guy who gave me the opportunity to see China, and for old friends who I would love to one day bring to America. I put in countless hours doing all these things not looking for recognition but results. I hope that at the end of doing my blogs for a whole year I can look back with a smile at all the great things I've done and all the great things yet to happen. The money, the support, and the follow through is what stands in not only my way but in everyone's way who hopes to participate in future cultural exchange programs. These programs are great, but expensive. No one can really afford to give $2700 each time they want to participate. Parents, friends, and co-workers often have to collect all they have just to send one person on the trip of a lifetime. Is it all worth it? Are the $2700 really worth the 2 weeks and the experience you hope to gain. I think so but a solution needs to be found. There needs to be an easier way for people to participate without having to break the bank and sacrifice something else in their lives.
I believe that we should be able to have our cake and eat it too. That life shouldn't be about compromise but opportunity. That an experience like this should be made available to both US and Chinese students. It doesn't even matter what part of the world you are from, it matters the type of person you are. If you are a good student who dreams badly of a better life than you should be given the chance. The chance to succeed and travel a world with so many things left to show you.
If I want this dream to come true then it's up to me to come up with the idea and follow through on it. I can't expect anyone else to bring to life this idea nor can I expect it to just magically happen. If I really want this then I must be determined and prove that I deserve it. Even if that means working late.
But am I living in the moment? Am I really doing something that has potential or am I blind to the hours I am wasting that could have been used on better things. Things that concern me today and will determine where I am able to go in the years to come. I believe that I am conscious of these things. That I do do my best in school and always try to put my best foot forward. There's always room for improvement but I do not think that that should be a reason to punish me for trying my best when trying to juggle both my dreams and the future that awaits me.
I will try my best and try to make time for the things that matter most. I will stay determined and diligent; trying to juggle two things that consume so much of my life. And I will not forget the reason why I do things. My motives will remain pure and open to the big picture. I will continue to remember why this idea is so important. The people it will affect; the impact is will have; and the paths it can blaze for future generations. Not all our ideas affect the world but those we hold close affect the people we hold close. Our idea thus spread and before you know it a project that started with 3 friends can explode and involve a community of people eager to make your dream a reality. Seeing that happens makes every lost hour of sleep seem like nothing.
I will continue to move forward ready for the brick walls I might hit along the way.
Sincerely, Hector Guzman
Date: 10/29/08
Official End Time: 11:05 p.m.
The last few days have been great in terms of what's getting done on the site, but not everyone sees it this way. I've been working hard trying to build the community on the website: adding pictures, making videos, groups, and trying to spread the good word. I do all this to give back to Steve, a guy who gave me the opportunity to see China, and for old friends who I would love to one day bring to America. I put in countless hours doing all these things not looking for recognition but results. I hope that at the end of doing my blogs for a whole year I can look back with a smile at all the great things I've done and all the great things yet to happen. The money, the support, and the follow through is what stands in not only my way but in everyone's way who hopes to participate in future cultural exchange programs. These programs are great, but expensive. No one can really afford to give $2700 each time they want to participate. Parents, friends, and co-workers often have to collect all they have just to send one person on the trip of a lifetime. Is it all worth it? Are the $2700 really worth the 2 weeks and the experience you hope to gain. I think so but a solution needs to be found. There needs to be an easier way for people to participate without having to break the bank and sacrifice something else in their lives.
I believe that we should be able to have our cake and eat it too. That life shouldn't be about compromise but opportunity. That an experience like this should be made available to both US and Chinese students. It doesn't even matter what part of the world you are from, it matters the type of person you are. If you are a good student who dreams badly of a better life than you should be given the chance. The chance to succeed and travel a world with so many things left to show you.
If I want this dream to come true then it's up to me to come up with the idea and follow through on it. I can't expect anyone else to bring to life this idea nor can I expect it to just magically happen. If I really want this then I must be determined and prove that I deserve it. Even if that means working late.
But am I living in the moment? Am I really doing something that has potential or am I blind to the hours I am wasting that could have been used on better things. Things that concern me today and will determine where I am able to go in the years to come. I believe that I am conscious of these things. That I do do my best in school and always try to put my best foot forward. There's always room for improvement but I do not think that that should be a reason to punish me for trying my best when trying to juggle both my dreams and the future that awaits me.
I will try my best and try to make time for the things that matter most. I will stay determined and diligent; trying to juggle two things that consume so much of my life. And I will not forget the reason why I do things. My motives will remain pure and open to the big picture. I will continue to remember why this idea is so important. The people it will affect; the impact is will have; and the paths it can blaze for future generations. Not all our ideas affect the world but those we hold close affect the people we hold close. Our idea thus spread and before you know it a project that started with 3 friends can explode and involve a community of people eager to make your dream a reality. Seeing that happens makes every lost hour of sleep seem like nothing.
I will continue to move forward ready for the brick walls I might hit along the way.
Sincerely, Hector Guzman
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