October 11th, 2020 – Jimena CAS Journal Entry

CAS Journal Entry #53

Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. Use your CAS experience to show how you have motivated yourself to do something for the community.

This year has been a whirlwind of emotions since the beginning up until now, October 11th. Towards the beginning of the year, everyone seemed hopeful and happy over what the year was going to bring. There was an implicit form of stability in the minds of everyone and how they were dealing with life, or so I thought. Nonetheless, when Coronavirus started hitting Europe and the Americas everything went south.

Prior to the pandemic, I always considered my country, Costa Rica, even the place where I live, Guanacaste, to be a relatively stable and happy place. People were always “pura vida” and friendly and helpful, and everyone had some sort of sense of stability. When the pandemic hit, I realized that not everything was perfect or stable per se. Many flaws of the government of Costa Rica were more prominent and put into light during the pandemic, as well as how unstable the zone in which I lived was as a result of the lack of tourists, which is the main revenue stream for many businesses and workers here.

I saw people which I was very close to, family, friends, acquaintances, or even people I have heard of, lose their jobs, lose a family member, or even be going through a difficult financial and emotional period. I realized that indeed not everything is as perfect as one might see it initially, times of despair tend to demonstrate the “true colours” of your surroundings.

This realization served as an eye-opener, it made me reflect on all the things I should be grateful for in life. Although my family hasn’t been hit that hard by the pandemic, this realization has made me even more grateful for having a family that is healthy and sane during this time period, as well as not struggling financially like many others around the zone. This “privilege” I behold has made me conscious of ways in which I could help my community as well as motivated me into being as helpful as possible during this time around the zone I live in.

Although not necessarily part of my CAS experience, this eye-opening experience has led to my family and I donating food for people that most need it around where we live, as well as providing them with donations of clothes, fabrics, and covers so they can be safe during this time period. In relation to my CAS experience, working with Proyecto Vida Mujer has opened my eyes to the social conditions in which women specifically live around this zone. These women are living in poor conditions, some get abused, and some don’t even have the resources to feed their children. Interviewing them through surveys has motivated me to help these women and change the system in which I live. This motivates me to want to educate people on gender-based violence, an issue which has been shown to be very prominent during this time, especially here. Also, providing these women with the choice to choose which birth control they want motivates me to change the mindset that people have around here. After all, change does start from within.