Bernadette Matthews's Blog
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Outside Mahogany Walls
- Posted on 08.01.08
Ah, college. Academia at its finest. Mahogany halls lined with bright young minds sipping cappucinos while studying for philosophy exams. Those four years are the stepping stones to a diploma, rightly earned and the key to a successful future.
Unless you're like me, and your memories of mahogany walls were that of the ship-themed local dive bar you spent more time at than the library.
I mean, I did the academic thing in high school. I had the 4.0, took the AP classes, did the various honors societies, volunteered and even made time to win scholastic medals for my studies in Advanced Latin. Yeah, so I was a total nerd. I vowed college would be different. I intended to make it about experiencing what life had in store for...by not focusing on school. While "Carpe Diem" served as the motto for my college life, it didn't exactly reside too well with my parents—who were paying a ton of money for me to basically tinker around with four different majors, numerous internships and on-campus jobs. I didn't do poorly in college, don't get me wrong. Although I spent nights belting out "Walking in Memphis" at Karaoke bars, I spent my days writing for the newspaper, designing for the yearbook, heading up the first ever Farmers Market on campus and getting involved in social justice initiatives. I made a name for myself, and while it wasn't "Valedictorian," it was a that of a socially-conscious, change-driven young woman. Mom and Dad surely couldn't take issue with that.
One of the most phenomenal extra-curricular experiences I had during my time at Loyola Marymount University was participating with De Colores trips. De Colores is a student-run program at LMU which sends groups of about 30 students down every month to Tijuana, Mexico, to work with families in impoverished areas to build their future homes. Most of the work done by LMU's De Colores program is supported by Build A Miracle, a non-profit organization that raises funds to build homes for needy families in Tijuana, founded by LMU alums Chris and Julianne North. Though I only went twice during my four years, the times I spent in Tijuana impacted me beyond belief.
One memory that particularly stands out in my mind was at Casa del Migrante, a shelter for men who have been recently deported from the U.S. We had dinner with the men, and I had a really powerful experience with a man named Ramon who had been deported 4 days earlier. His wife and twin four year-old daughters were still in the U.S. and he planned on trying to go back over the border in the next few days. After talking about his "babies" for awhile, he broke down and had to leave the table. I felt like my heart had gotten ripped out of my chest, seeing a big, strong man absolutely melt at the mention of the family he had been separated from.
At that moment I knew I had to do something. I got up and left the table and headed over to the director of Casa find out about spending some time volunteering there, long-term. I felt immediately at home when I walked into Casa, and I could definitely see myself dedicating a year of service there. I know that's a big thing to say, and that the idealistic feelings of helping people in a foreign country will most likely fade away as I continue my 9-5 workdays in L.A. But I want people to challenge me to keep considering a year of service. I fully planned on doing post-graduate service after my time at LMU, but with the reality of thousands of dollars of school loans looming over me, those dreams got pushed to the side in favor of a "real" job. But I wear a bracelet from Tijuana daily to remind me never to forget those ambitions.
What I have witnessed in Tijuana is a community of the most loving people, ones who are thankful for everyone who has dedicated time to helping them. These are not "the people" I see in the news, videos cleverly crafted by the media to show, for example, a Mexican man kicking a puppy before climbing over The Wall (see: http://www.immigrationwatchdog.com/?p=6909). My times in Mexico taught me something I never learned inside the walls of my University, something even better than experiences inside that dive bar. It's a desire to help people, a desire for authentic change. It is the freedom to see truth and growth. After all, changing the world is not a risk, it is a responsibility.
*All names have been changed to protect the privacy of the community.
Related causes: Human Rights
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Awesome post, Bern! Very inspiring:)
wow! what an amazing first blog post! keep it up bern i'd love to hear more from you!!!