***WARNING LONG POST ABOUT NOTHING MUCH***
I didn't know where to write this. I could do it in a notebook, but nobody would be able to mock or detest me if it were privately written. So here it is:
Four years ago today an earthquake his the country of Haiti. It killed over 300,000 Haitians and made over 1 million of them homeless. It was a horrific tragedy. Nobody will ever argue that. At the time of the earthquake I didn't even know wtf Haiti was. I thought it was just a bunch of dudes in Bad Boys 2. I was down and out in life. A horrible drug addict with tons of personal issues. I was broke and ready to give up. I really had nowhere to go besides "home". Anyone who is 28 and has to go back home after riding a drug and money fueled cross country rage for five straight years knows going home means you have nothing else. I was tired of hurting myself and more importantly the people I truly loved around me. I was alienating myself and creating enemies, as even seen here on the internet. The one thing I always never forgot was the difference between right and wrong. I did so many horrible things. A lot of times I wasn't in the right frame of mind to make a mature decision, but when all the smoke cleared I always knew right from wrong. I wanted to atone for all the things I did. As many of you already mock me for this, I went to Haiti.
The whole reason I am writing this is because I was thinking about it today. It's the anniversary of this event, and it made me think how an entire countries' tragedy turned into so many other people's blessing. I know it sounds fucked up. Nobody is happy people had to die, but they did. I am a huge believer in making the best of any situation, and indirectly I did that with this horrible disaster. I never really thought of it like this until today. As I sit here in Colorado living a wonderful life with a wonderful girl(Who I met doing relief work). I never thought me volunteering would turn into a quarter life career. In April it will be four years I have been doing disaster relief, and I think I could do good for the rest of my life, and I would not even come close to giving as much as I have received. I didn't know that would be the result, but undeniably it is the absolute truth.
I was thinking about the organization I volunteered with and ended up working for. They made a name for themselves in Haiti, and without that disaster who knows how much money they would have coming in today? I personally know a lot of volunteers who were out there for the same basic reason I was. They weren't sure about life, and wanted to do something that made them feel like it actually mattered. Today, we are all one big family. We live around the world and all keep in touch. The people I have met are some of my best and most trusted friends. You live, eat, sleep, work, and hang out with each other every single day you are on a project. You become a unit. The reason I say this is because Haiti was just the start, the launch. After Haiti I went to the Philippines for Typhoon relief. When I went out there I already knew and loved so many of our volunteers that would eventually greet me at my arrival. Without Haiti none of that happens. Millions of friendships and relationships were sparked from the disaster in Haiti. Its one of the few great things you can really take from this. It's the way we HAVE TO think if we want to eventually recover from a tragedy of this magnitude. I've learned this from my own fuckups. You have to learn from the past, but also forget it. It's done and you can't change it. All that matters is what is happening now and forward.
Without Haiti I don't land a job in New York after Hurricane Sandy. The same org I volunteered with in the Philippines hired me. After I had done everything I could there they wanted me to come to New York and lead teams of volunteers in gutting and mold treatment for effected homeowners. I met my girlfriend in New York, and I am in love with her. I could see myself spending the rest of my life with her. Again, none of this happens without Haiti. It's such a fucked up feeling, but it's so fucking true. Even people who were not in Haiti feel the effects. We have had projects in IL, CO, and OK this year. All of the volunteers who know about our organization would have probably never heard of us if not for Haiti.
Basically, the fucked up message in this post is: Lots of people indirectly benefited from the disaster in Haiti, especially me. This isn't even tapping into the money benefited from this disaster by many people. If you want me to keep writing I can tell you about the experience I had where while in Haiti I was hired by another org that one of our volunteers had started. It ended up being an international scam for millions of dollars, and the guy is still on the loose.
Sorry for the rant. I just had nowhere else I really would want to write this.
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Originally Posted by 4Dragons
