A new project was recently introduced in Mosaic, and again, this one promises to make a difference. In my life, I have always valued Freedom and Justice, along with a strong work ethic.
Freshman year, I was exposed to new topics and ideas through Schneider-Classen Humanities, and all their projects were “be the change” or some catchy, albeit misleading, title. But we didn’t do anything. We weren’t the change.
The next year in AP Human Geo, we basically did the same projects again. Again, there was no change. Vietnam Veteran’s project also didn’t result in anything, although it had the potential.
In school and Mosaic, too many well-intentioned projects are left half-assed and never completed. When I wrote the Botcher essays and prompts, and they made me reflect I have not really done anything good for anyone with my existence, aside from a few simplistic school projects. All of these projects to help others really just turn out to be research projects in the end. I want to follow a project through where I can help someone and actually make a difference. I don’t really care who I help or how, as long as they feel I made a quantifiable difference in their life.
When this project was pitched, one of my good friends in the program said he wasn’t interested. I asked why, and he replied with, “Because in Mosaic the projects don’t actually do anything. Most of them aren’t ever finished”. I want to change that, for myself, for the people we pledge to help, and for the program.
I’m not sure how I want to incorporate Freedom and Justice in a applicable project that makes a difference. I could help the wrongly jailed, some of whom are on death row. I could help those in communities that don’t have a police force representative of the population. I could help protesters at the Dakota Access Pipeline. Or I can help in my community. I live in Douglas County, listed as the ninth richest county and is over 90% “white alone”, according to the 2015 census. I’m sure there are underserved populations in Douglas Country that lack Freedom and Justice, but I don’t know how to find and help them.