JUFRAN Retreat/LKC

We are products of the people.

We are products of our past. 

 

Over these past 2 weeks i have learned those 2 important lessons.

Retreat

During our Jufran retreat we experienced bonding and learning to grow with one another. I felt it was a rather successful retreat where that growth together truly began. My favorite part of the entire retreat was the hike. Sure the hike was tiring to get up there but it was well wothe the relaxation and the view when we reached the top. You see i like to take things symbolically. We rise together or we fall together. We either view a great finished product, or an incomplete one. That hike symbolized our rise together. We worked hard to pull ourselves to the top, and in the end we witnessed a truly amazing view. Like this internship we will rise together and look back at a great result. We will learn together and fall together, but no matter what we do it will be as ONE. We are the products of the people. And this treat made me realize that when we build these kannections with other people, it allows us to create and concoct a new form of thinking and critical mindset and helps us forge a new path for a more intellectual future. I will look back at this experience and say i am the product of those around me who helped me grow and learn. So i would like to thank every single one of you for allowing me to see that and getting closer to all of you will just make us grow even more. 

LKC

1968 was the year that shakes the nation.

One thing that caught my attention was that phrase on the powerpoint. It did not say 1968 was the year that shook the nation, but it said "shakes" It got me thinking that in the general scheme of things, everything we do will forever change the ongoing future. 1968 was special because many social issues were being brought to the forefront of mainstream America. TWLF, Vietnam, Ho Chih Minh, we are all products of our past. We are shaped by what happened 41 years ago. Sergio's presentation, although short on time, was a highly informative and highly effective workshop. He presented things in an organized fashion, while also allowing us to think critically about the events that went on 4 decades ago. Not only do the events of history shape who we are, but today we may be experiencing just as much turmoil. The Iraq/Afghanistan war, the horrible state of the economy, and the huge budget cuts in the educational institutions seem to have replaced old problems. We must look back at these men and women who shaped the nation in 1968, and determine how we go about fighting the problems. It was also brought to my attention that the people who led the revolutionary organizations such as the black panthers and twlf are dwindling to close to nothing. But we must take it as our responsibility to continue the fight. Sure they may be gone, but it is our turn to fight for ourselves. At least we have a precedent in which we can model ourselves after. The trip to the LKC, although not as long as i would have liked it to be, will be a memorable one as it taught me that we are products of 1968 and we must take the reins and unite underharsh conditons here in 2009

My song for the week is a fitting song as it is entitled 1968.

The track is by your one and only Ben Paz. =)

Here are the lyrics and a link to my website where you can listen to it. 

1968 by Ben Paz

 "I see Black whites latinos and Asians come together like one bondin nation they marched and sat down and as peaceful as this shit sounds you hear the rounds of clip bein shot to the ground they released the hounds but these men didn’t sit there and stare the rose up not with pitchforks and guns but an open mind they closed up the campus closed shut for 5 months with no luck but showed up but so what? Today the seeds of this revolution were nothing but uprooted covered and booted silenced from me and you and still can’t make a change we still deranged from our first day to the graduation stage. Still knowin more math than ourselves and the board entails they need more bread to make it more well its more hell 6 years its takes to graduate man we two years late in this modern day war Still need to shape a revolution evolution they preachin and this cos sin tan shit our culture still missin the essence of the message they put forth is prone to be distorted by a biased form of knowledge man our shit aint got no logic now we stuck between a rock and a hard place they say this is our space where everyone can live laugh and learn more like shit crash and burn. its our turn to grab the mics and idolize our heroes and fight"

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