"Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to only to the people who prepare for it today."
Malcom X
Hello from Mississippi once again. After being out of school for 6 months it has been so much fun getting back to learning! After being out of in-person school for 4 years being back with people my age has also been super refreshing. Since being at Alcorn I have already met some people who by the end of the semester I hope to be able to call friends. I was nervous coming into a school where I would be part of a minority but I cannot say that I have felt anything but acceptance. Yes, of course, I get the usual double glance and a feeling that whenever someone comes up and asks if I'm new it's because there aren't a ton of white girls to mistake me with, but that is normal. That is what being a minority is. But to feel only that, the little things here and there it all gets drowned out by all the good that comes into my days too.
We were able to get the whole team on campus this week after a lot of struggle. It is fun getting to meet everyone, having a table to sit out every day, and having people who have the same interests as me. Our team is comprised of girls from the UK, Spain, Egypt, Serbia, and India, and me the only American on both teams. Our boy's team is comprised of Montenegro, Serbia, Canada, Peru, and Australia. Getting to practice with other people who push me to be better has been so much fun and to have other girls to cheer for and cheer me on is going to be so exciting. This first week has been a lot of finishing up things with the school getting classes organized, getting to know each other, and our new environment, and though it has been a bit slow I am so excited for the season to start! For anyone wanting to see our season schedule go to the link below:
Between the chatting, the greeting, and the eating. I have been training both on the court, track, and gym which have all been a blast. Having been bedridden after surgery I can never express to people how important movement is. Being able to move your body is such a blessing and one that I completely took for granted until I lost it. Learning how to be in, an in-person class has also been a bit of a transition. As difficult as it finds itself I am looking forward to farther into the year when we are past all the introductions and get into the real learning. I am a little worried about the homework load but all my teachers are super nice and super smart ladies. Transitioning into college I was most worried that the teachers would be a lot different than high school, but being here and seeing it for myself the teachers here want to see us succeed as much as anyone else. I am so excited to continue to get to know them along with all my fellow peers!
SPOTLIGHT!
This week I wanted to spotlight a group of people, the people who are being directly affected by the plastic crisis. When the waste we create and throw into the trash bins gets put into the bags, thrown into our bigger trash bins outside, and taken by the trucks. . . Where do they go? To the landfill? Yes, it may seem that a majority does but how much doesn't? When you are driving down the road and see a "small" piece of plastic fly off the truck where does that go? In the rivers and oceans and eventually, end up in small towns and villages in third world countries if not at the bottom of the ocean. While we live in trash-free neighborhoods these small towns and villages, especially coastal ones, get swarmed, bombarded, overrun, and infected by the pollution. Think about what you have thrown away this week. Was there a light piece of plastic, cardboard, or styrofoam? Could it have been blown by the wind? Well now think that the piece that came to mind could end up in front of someone's home. It could get broken down and end up in someone's water. Our trash doesn't disappear from the world when it gets taken out. It just disappears from our homes. Landfills are open-air deposits of trash that in reality don't contain the trash they collect. Wind and rain can easily come in and take whatever is light enough to carry and take it wherever it pleases. The US produces 268 MILLION tons of trash. How much is lost to wind? Attached below is a link to a website where you can not only read about the waste we create in the States but also how to reduce the waste in your household. Believe me when I say it is possible to cut your waste down to the size of a mason jar, though it takes time, patience, and money it is possible and you are one step away from getting a little closer!
Sounds great!! What a great time in your life!! Love, uncle Bob