The world doesn’t stop turning, and my feet remain firm. The weather is still shifty, and I’m still very busy. All is well, if not better. Scholarships are being filled out, and everything else is set.

Sometimes I might feel like I’m in over my head. School, work, college classes, my blog, the yearbook, the newspaper, the world around me, my family, my relationship (yes I have one), and my sanity, seem to be stirred together. I remain calm most of the time. I don’t give up on myself. Thinking ahead, knowing that this all of this is going to count soon, really helps a lot. I just need to stay positive.

Now, my life was hit by an event so monstrous it’s necessary to share. It’s all over the news, in magazines, and on the Internet. Haiti, the poorest country in the world, was hit by a disastrous earthquake a couple of weeks ago. More than 150,000 people have died and many more have been injured. My area, The Rio Grand Valley, in Texas, is said to be one of the poorest areas in the U.S. However, poverty was of no hindrance when it came to attempting to help.

For the sake of making an effort, Ms. Linda Garcia 2010 English 4’s graduating classes (including yours truly), hosted a project called “Shoes for Haiti”. As a whole, we collected over 1,200 pairs of shoes, which were shipped off to the people in Haiti.

Our effort made the front page of The Monitor and the Howler’s (our school newspaper) center spread. But that was nothing compared to the overwhelming sensation of hope we felt. Hope that we made a difference, hope that no one would forget the unity the school experienced in a matter of three days! It still brings tears to my eyes thinking about it. It took all we had not to cry, (though most of us just couldn’t hold it in).

It was for the better, for the cause, for the sake of not feeling helpless. It was different, and different was good. It was a way to step out of my own shoes (literally) and lend a helping hand.

Here I was thinking that nothing exciting ever happened in my little corner of the world, and now – I’m part of history.