Spandex, Capes, and Costco

Happy March, everyone!

This year March means a lot more to me than March break or my parents’ birthdays. It means a month a Hero Holidays! We have five ten-day trips coming over a span of four and a half weeks, redefining the meaning of March Madness. And just as anyone would do with two hundred guests coming to their home, we took a trip to Costco.

At home in Montreal, Costco is a fifteen minute drive right off of the service road. In Mexico, Costco is a three-hour road trip to Ensenada. It was a full-family event. All six LDA students and our two leaders pilled into our full-sized Live Different school bus. We were accompanied by our favorite Mexican family, Santi, Julia, and Benny. Even the kids joined us, three-year-old Edwin and baby James.

When we arrived in Costco we were instructed to get three flatbeds and four carts. We formed a Live Different parade as we slowly made our way through every aisle. A man teased us, saying we took all of Costco’s stock of cereal (not quite, but close! We had seventy jumbo-and-sometimes-double-boxes of cereal).

We made our way to a couple more super-stores before heading back home. It was raining and the mountainous roads were slippery. Guardrail was put only where it was absolutely necessary (and sometimes not). We had to pull over at one point because a boulder had slid its way down the mountain and into the road. Regardless of the bad weather, I felt very safe in our big white bus with our trusted driver.

After a long day of travelling, I was very happy to be able to crawl into my bed. It was cold and rainy outside, but I stayed warm and toasty curled up with my blankets and my faithful heater.

Listening to the rain outside, I couldn’t help but think about the poor families that lived just a stone’s throw away from our big, warm, dry, concrete house. I knew their cardboard, plastic, and sometimes wooden houses were no match for the pouring rain. Most of these houses had no insulation, let alone electricity to keep the family living inside warm.

I tried to imagine the look on their faces if they saw all the mountains of food that was pilled up on our kitchen floor. I know the food is going to be eaten and put to good use, but I can’t help but feel a little guilty knowing I have so much while they have so little.

It’s really easy to get lost in a feeling of hopelessness. It’s easy to be paralyzed by the overwhelming amount of injustices occurring all around the world. And it’s easy to forget that while you stand frozen in fear, you’re doing nothing to stop them.  

Instead of getting caught up in a wave of despair, I choose to look at the good. This March, ten families are getting new homes. Ten families won’t be caught in the rain anymore.

In the grand scheme of things, ten houses won’t change the world. But it will certainly change their worlds.

I was watching a really great TED talk by Shiza Shahid today. An incredible woman, she gave up a promising career to fight for women’s rights all around the world. Something she said stuck a chord in me,

“The truth is there are no superheroes. There is just us. We are the ones we have been waiting for.”

So what are you waiting for? This is your moment to change the world. So put on your spandex and cape and get moving!

Lots of love,

Meagan <3