As the craziness of my first year at the University of Indianapolis winds down and our departure to South Texas fast approaches, I keep asking myself if I am prepared. I wonder if I have bought all the things that are necessary for the 12 days I will spend in Texas. I wonder if I am prepared both emotionally and physically for this trip. I imagine how it will be, but the reality is that I have no idea what it will be like until I get there and I am immersed in the work we will do. I am both extremely excited and extremely terrified at the same time.
I am terrified to encounter a scorpion or a snake, but I am excited to overcome my fear of these creatures. I am nervous about how hot it will be while we are there, but I am excited to be in a different culture and meet different people. I have heard that Texas food is very spicy and I am not a big fan of spicy food. However, this will be an excellent way to become more accustomed to spicy foods.
Over all of my fears and worries though, I am excited and humbled to be a part of this amazing mission. I have a strong belief that every person on this earth deserves the same basic human rights outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I believe that regardless of sex or ancestry, every person deserves to live a free and happy life and if an untimely death occurs, every person should be reunited with their family. In my “Human Rights” and “Peace and Justice Studies” classes at Michigan State, we delved deep into basic human rights and how those rights have been denied to people over the course of our history. We discussed how we might be able to help people who are denied the basic rights of life and we talked about how it seems impossible sometimes, to help people who are in desperate need of assistance. I wish this world were perfect. I wish that no human would ever suffer and I wish that no human would ever be left unidentified. Unfortunately, that is not our reality. The reality is that a crisis is occurring at our border and the world needs to know about it. While I cannot stop this crisis, nor directly inform the world of it, I feel extremely grateful to be a small part of the process working towards change.
As the days fly by and our departure to South Texas rapidly approaches, I find myself eager. I am eager to take part in this amazing mission. I am eager to visit Texas. I am eager to try spicy food. I am eager to meet new people and get to know my team better. And I am eager to better understand the crisis occurring at the border. I know that the knowledge I will gain while in Texas will positively impact me, and I look forward to sharing this knowledge with my family and friends.