|objet trouvé|

hunger for change

2007-10-01T20:35:00.001-07:00

today as i was leaving a meeting, i walked into the Fastathon. it is a event organized by the muslim students association and exactly the type of event i hope to see for |make change|.

it is partially raising awareness for ramadan, but it is really meant to raise money and awareness for hunger and poverty groups. i think its a great event that gets people thinking about how lucky we are to have food when we want, when we choose. eating is a luxury; most days we do it without a second thought. reaching into our cupboards for another bowl of cereal, or to whip up some pasta it slips our mind the privalege we are about to recieve. despite the debt, students and adults are afforded the credit to pay for what we need, and then we turn around and refuse to help those with even less than us.

and i know that many of the people that ask for money, may not use it for what they suggest, or what we hope it is for. but how can we continue in a culture that destroys hope for these people, and then pats itself on the back for the feeble 'solutions' that are out there. if nothing else can we not even afford to give them dignity to talk to them and excuse ourselves.

"Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat." - mother teresa

i think there is a lot of hunger in our city, whether it is those in streets or sitting in class next to us. there are a lot of ways that we can change in the way we treat each that would make a huge difference. can you think of what they are?

better people

2007-09-30T18:16:00.000-07:00

"let us consider how we may spur one another on,
toward love and good deeds." heb. 10:24

so its been a while since i have had to breath and have a chance to pursue some on the things i really want to get going, such at this blog. but tonight i was encouraged by others and its brought me to pick this back up and keep going.

tonight at church david talked* about our need to spur others on in, to encourage them to keep up the good fight, to keep pushing through the difficulties of what we are going through. this was another thing that really registered with me, and made me think of what i want to do with |make change|.

i really want a door to be opened by this projet. a chance for people to let their work or art change others, and hopefully a chance to do something that will change themselves. sometimes it is very busy with school and we get caught up in this pursuit of 'higher education', but what are we really teaching ourselves?

ryerson's mission statement gives a long winded, very wordy and specific definition of how they want to make people "advancement of applied knowledge and research to address societal need," but sometimes i think, and hope for that matter, that i am going to university to not just become a smarter person, but also a better person. however sometimes i doubt whether a class in Food, Place and Geography, or Authority and Conflict: England 1558-1689 can make me a better human being. i'm not contending the academic valuve of it, but what different is it making.

i want to create something that will allow students and faculty to consider avenues for personal growth outside of a syllubus, or text book. hopefully people can tap ideas outside of their feild, find under utalized talents or develop them, network with other impassioned people that want to stop going through univerity with glazed eyes, and burned out minds.

with this project i am trying to step out, and say what im dreaming and hoping for. its hard, and a bit nerve racking but i doubt im the only one out there who has had these thought. i hope it can become something that will encourage people to love more and do good deeds.

*i go to freedomize church toronto, a young church that is a bit different from the norm, and if you are interest in it check out www.freedomize.com and in a few weeks im sure this particular sermon can be found at http://www.freedomize.com/content.xjp?id=3

apply

2007-09-19T21:18:00.000-07:00

"knowing is not enough, we must apply.
willing is not enough we must do."

- Goethe

so now that i have this big idea, the hard part making it happen.

i think this is my biggest fear and going to be my biggest hurdle. so many people talk about hopes and dreams, great ideas and nothing ever happens. this is why im going to try and be some what practical and realistic even though i have really big hopes for it. i know i want to forsure impact the nursing community this year and im hoping the other course unions and student groups will come on board but, im going forward with or with out them. im truly hoping this won't be the case though.

what will it take to get it going? i think one of the first things im going to have to do is create a plan for the project. ive heard statistics that say writing goals down improve the likelihood of it coming to fruition by up to 40%, which means i definitely should outline what i hope to do. once i have set out the goals it will make it a lot easier to set up a plan, to guide my progress and keep me on track for, and if things do start to fall apart, realize it before its to late and hopefully correct the problems.

so sometime this week im going to come up with the goals and more details about what i want to do with this event, and then start throwing it out there. i already know im going to need help from people so ill be recruiting people to help out. i by no means think i am going to be able to do this alone, i don't have the time or the skills to pull off this project by myself. i know already im going to need help with design, managing, financing, and promoting this project. i could probably do some of these things but i know there are more talented people that hopefully will be able to help me with this.

im really hoping that this vision is one that people will want to get involved in, and is something that i am going to rely on a bit. this doesn't mean that i want everyone else to do a ton of work, but im hoping it will attract a lot of skilled people to do small amounts of work in their area of expertise. that way people won't get over work, can do things they enjoy and know how to do and help out in a big way.

this is one of my primary goals, not to get people doing what i want, but give them a way to do things they like but for a united goal. so again im gonna ask you to contact me if you want to contribute LET ME KNOW. if you read this LET ME KNOW, im not going to ask for anything but give me some feedback. tell me im an idiot, that you think its a cool idea. that i have horrible grammar and need to edit this page. anything would be helpful. just drop me a line

bethechangeryerson@gmail.com

make change.

2007-09-17T21:53:00.000-07:00

so there once was a man from Nantucket... but he didn't do anything, and if there wasn't a poem that was kind of catchy describing him no one would care.

the Mahatma (Gandhi that is), on the other hand, did many things and said even more. one of the things he said was this,

"...be the change you wish to see in the world. "

since then its been used in a TON of cliche books about chicken soup, chain letters, bumper stickers, and probably a couple boxes of cereal. but if we actually think about it, these words could actually change the world, instead of just making us feel a little warm and fuzzy thinking about what great things people have, and could have, done to actually make an impact.

for a while i have been working on personal development and looking for ways i can help out, or contribute to something. it has led me to get involved in student unions, panel presentations, go to lectures, attend concerts, fashion shows, and a bunch of other weird or random events that have peaked my interest or seemed like a good opportunity. but lately i have been wondering how i could somehow combine some of these things, to actually not only change myself, but |make change| in the world around me.

a majority of my life is spent at ryerson university in downtown toronto. my interactions consists mainly my own program, occassionally larger student body on campus, and some different organizations around the campus. with this idea i hope to have an impact on all three.

so i have come up with a project that is still in the embryonic stage of development. but here it is. the working name is |make change| and if you are not sure if this change refers to a noun or verb, its meant to be both. a week (approx.) filled with influential speakers and panelists, fundraising events, and as many opportunities as possible, to create a community that is creating a change they want to see in the world.

there will be more to come, but this is the start that will hopefully turn this dream into something real.

also if you have any comments, ideas, dreams or changes you want to make let me know i have setup an account purely for this project. bethechangeryerson@gmail.com i would love to have some feedback, or help to get this project up and running.

objet trouvé

2007-09-13T07:47:00.001-07:00

so what is objet trouvé?
its mainly a word that i found from word a day at merriam-webster. but i loved the mearning.

objet trouvé • \AWB-zhay-troo-VAY\ • noun

: a natural or discarded object found by chance and held to have aesthetic value

what might your eyes float over on this page? well your guess is as good as mine, but likely whatever i feel like. some short entries on what im up to, things plaguing my mind, or just that have tickled my enough to share. i was to throw up ideas, goals, activites im involved in here and there. the format, and content might change, hopefully always for the better, but i would like to update it with some regularity. and i hope upsome pixilated shots from my 1.3 megapixel camera my phone has been blessed with. ha

how does that look.

other than that, its just a way for me work on writting and give my time to something else that isn't school work.