To help or hinder

My mother spent years telling me that the people you choose to hang out with can either elevate you to be the best person you are capable of being or it can drag you down and hinder your growth. It took me years of learning the hard way that this is true and I have burned many bridges with people that I did truly love because they dragged me down.

This is why after what happened last week I was very distraught over whether I had made the right decision in joining this group. In the first week I have been disillusioned.

I believe whole-heartedly in what this organization stands for but my heart was broken and I was left dumb founded to find out that there is a crisis going on here that I will not even pretend to understand.

I joined this group to help me better myself and to become the best person that I can be. I find time to volunteer once a week because I believe in the sprit of volunteerism. I have worked hard for my classes and the wonderful opportunities I have had, being an RA, my position on the school newspaper, the opportunity to study abroad just to name a few.

I have done everything right yet I am being punished. And when I hear that my fellow friends lie I have to question whether this is a group that will help me or is this a group that will hinder me.

Although it kills me to say this, after what I heard last week I am temped to say that if I chose to walk away, as of right now, I would not be the one in this situation that will be loosing out. I wish with all my heart that my last comment is untrue.

But wishes cannot come true if you sit around and wait for them to happen. We have to work as a group to make this situation better, not for me, but for the betterment of the whole group. For all of us - past, present, and future.

And last, once I have made a commitment come hell or high water I will see it through.