I have learned about the history of the refugee's struggle, this struggle's birth place, how the refugee gets saved and relocated, and the biggest part in many of the refugees' lives. We have learned so much about the history of Burma, Sudan, Eritrea, and much much more. Many of these histories stem from governmental control with little democratic voice for the people as well as/or a heavy religious conflict. The birth place of these conflicts many times seem to come from discrimination. People always start the hate on other people... but only people can stop it. I have learned about the IRC and their mission: To help save and relocate refugees while creating a lasting change in not only the refugees' lives but also (if they can) in the lives of the refugees who are still in the country at war. I have also learned that the life of a refugee heavily revolves around a creator. Many of these refugees believe strongly in God and they are often extremely thankful to be alive. They are extremely appreciative people and I hope that all of us walked away a bit more like them.

          Through this project, I learned that my heart really is in a place where I want to help people. I have realized that life is much bigger than our little San Diego County -- our little USA. This 100% makes me want to join an organization like the Peace Corps even more and it makes me feel bad that I am not doing anything to even help the people in my own community. I have realized that genuine connections are important, especially to those who do not have many connections at all. Also, I have realized that I do like performing (for the most part:) and I really like Spoken Word.

          I started out being the leader for the PR group, later handing the role over to Sarah O. Here, I delegated roles, got some contact information, emailed my group letting them know directions, and got together a good list of some places for us to contact. I then switched groups to go into Poetry. In the poetry group, Hannah and I practiced our spoken word ENDLESSLY, changing it almost the entire time (until the last few days). We performed it for a few different audiences, asking and taking critique each time. We asked for help from teachers like Mr. Sevilla and Mrs. Clark and focused on putting the emotion into our poem and performance. At the event, we practiced even more. When the time came to present our poem, we got up there, messed up a few times from stage fright (although everyone said they didn't notice), and even had a girl come up to us and tell her we gave her chills! (the ultimate compliment!) This was a great experience that helped me with my stage, memorizing, and performing confidence.