Week 12: Updates
1105 words by emilygray
In week 6 I blogged about the personal tragedy of losing my uncle in March and wrote about how I might change my project to fit something related to the reason for his death. I just want to update here that I stuck with my original project because I am not quite if I really have time to deal with or think about all the mess involved with my uncles deaths over these past few months. Maybe when I am out of school and have time to have a clear head I will be able to do something to help others in the same similar situation as my family was before my uncles died.
Anyway, on a lighter note I did change my original project to fit more with my schedule. I volunteered my time with the Greater Baton Rouge Foodbank over Easter. I had a very fulfilling time sorting food and talking to the other volunteers. It is always gratifying to do something that you know will directly help to impact other people.
I am very disappointed that I have not had time to do anything else in regards to nutrition and post the video as originally planned but there is only so many hours in the day. I don’t think I have ever felt as exhausted as I have this semester.
I did not realize that we were supposed to take pictures of ourselves doing our project. The only picture I can really offer is one from the Greater Baton Rouge Foodbank website of other volunteers basically doing what I did. 
Okay so maybe that idea did not work either. I could not find exactly one of people sorting food but here is a girl boxing some jars apparently. There are a number of different ways to volunteer at the foodbank and I guess this is what was available to do the day she volunteered.
I’m not going to lie but this is really hard blog to fill up the 1000 words. There is only so much you can say over and over again about something that you have already talked about.
I guess I will attempt to explain Jesus being counter cultural and hopefully that will help me reach my 1000 words.
Being counter cultural means that someone is going against the cultural norms. Jesus during his ministry spent much of his time interacting and associating with people that were thought to be shunned by society. He did not discriminate in who he interacted with. He healed lepers, he embraced sinners, he ate with tax collectors, and he thought of women as equal to men. Jesus showed society a different way of life as a life of acceptance no matter what kind of person you were “classified” to be in the society. Jesus taught that we should treat each other as we want to be treated and we should always stand up for what we believe is write and just. Jesus’ counter cultural interaction with all people in all factions of society opened up a world of controversy but this did not stop him. He continued to love, care for, and practice what he believed even up to his death. Jesus was the rebel and the rule breaker and did not listen to the societal norms about which type of people were supposed to interact with the other. Jesus was also counter cultural in what he believed and taught. He stuck up for himself during a time where there was much doubt and strict laws in what was to be believed. Jesus stood up for the fact that he was the son of god and did not hold back in preaching this in public even though he knew that he might get into trouble for doing this. Ultimately Jesus was crucified for his belief and for claiming that he was the son of god (true blasphemy for people back in that day). However, even upon his death Jesus held that he could not just do as the society expected of him and rebuke what he believed so strongly.
My project could definitely have some correlation of being counter cultural. How many times have you walked along the street and seen a truly obese person and thought, “Ew, I cannot believe someone would let themselves get like that. That is disgusting. I would never touch that person.” Jesus’ counter cultural beliefs would show you that you should embrace that person and not judge just because they are different from the rest of society. Or how many times have you walked along and just passed up a homeless person looking for a few bucks or something to eat and you thought resentful thoughts of how they should get off the street and go get a job. Jesus’ counter cultural beliefs again would teach you that you cannot judge this person because you have no idea where they come from or for what reason they are in the position that they are in. My project also embraces this concept because blindly I did something for someone that I do not have a clue about. Rather than being judgemental of why a person might come to get that food, I just openly volunteered time to help someone who says that they need help. Although our society today does not as blatantly reject the “outsiders” there are still stereotypes and actions that show this attitude. Because of this, when people give of their time without judgement and without questioning it shows some deviation from the norm of having an opinion about the situation without knowing the facts. Jesus would look at this as a perfect response to his ministry and a true action that embraces what he believed. I have always been taught and raised that you do not look down upon a person because of where they come from in life and this project exemplifies this belief. I do not have a clue of why someone would need to get food from a foodbank and I would never judge them for doing so. Realistically we all know that there probably are some people who take advantage of the whole idea but those people will have to deal with that on their own. I would not judge the whole for the actions of a few.
