Palmer Trinity School

A l u m n i S p o t l i g h t Alba Gosalbez '06 While at Palmer Trinity, I was very involved with the Impact trip to Nicaragua. I went on this trip my last three years at Palmer. It was a beautiful experience. To be able to go to a foreign country with the purpose of helping those in need and actually see yourself and the "impact" you have on those helped is such a blessing. Now, I feel so incredibly lucky to have had such good experiences because I realize that not everyone does these things. I knew it was a special experience that we were a part of, but this awareness has grown over the years and I look back on it now and think "yes, this is absolutely something I need to be doing for the rest of my life. I need to help people." I guess you could say I found "my calling" very early on and didn't even realize it.  Currently, I am a Junior at FIU and I became involved with the YES!+ Program through The Art of Living Youth. YES!+ is an innovative and dynamic educational and life skills program for young students and professionals. YES!+ empowers young people with tools to eliminate stress, rid the system of negative emotions, develop strong social and leadership skills, heighten awareness and increase mental focus. This intense program also includes practical sessions on entrepreneurial skills, maximizing individual potential and physical, mental and emotional health.  It also challenges young people to reach their highest potential and has made a difference to thousands across the world. Currently, I am committed to the Haiti Relief project. My other YES!+ teacher, Uma, has been working very closely with the Haitian community here in Miami and in Haiti. After the hurricanes devastated Haiti this past year, Uma and Amanda organized over forty public schools to collect and donate canned food and goods to be shipped to Haiti. With the help of volunteers, all of the supplies were picked up in one day. It took a day and a half to re-pack everything, transfer over to the port and put it on the ships. Even though this project only took a full week, it taught me that you can do absolutely anything you want to if you put your mind to it. Young people truly can make a difference in the world, and we're doing it right now. It's becoming a revolution. I went to India over the Winter Break and began the YES!+ course which concentrates in silent meditation. We sat in silence for a period of days. It's designed to enhance self-discovery and recharge the mind and body. We took the Sahadj Samadhi Meditation course. This course teaches you a simple and practical way to practice meditation every day. It allows you to focus and remain in the present moment, which is extremely important. The third course is called DSN. It translates into "Creating a Divine Society - Do Something Now". This course teaches you how to break through personal inhibitions and barriers. It empowers you and allows you to have such a solid core that no outside event can shake you. After the coursework, we participate in a service project and then visit rural schools and temples, while participating in sustainable development projects. I am 20 years old and I already have already fulfilled one of my life dreams. I feel so lucky. I don't see any other purpose in life other than helping others, or helping in general. There are so many problems out there that it doesn't make sense to focus your attention on something unproductive; it's a waste of energy to do so. Now that I have become so involved with the Art of Living Foundation and YES!+, I don't see myself doing anything else other than continuing to work with the foundation and aiding those in need. The message I would like to send to others is that you are the only person in control of your destiny. You can do anything  you set your mind to. If you go into a situation thinking "this will never happen, it's impossible for this to work" then it won't. But if you have a positive attitude and you are convinced that you can do this, you will. Things are not as complicated as they seem…we make them that way. After graduation, I would like to become a YES!+ teacher. I want to be able to work with children who have been mistreated and abused and help them find a way to express and release their traumas in a positive and healthy way. I don't know how long after graduation this will take, but I have a feeling that I won't have to wait until after graduation for too long. Alumnews 36

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