Reflection Paper #5

Taylor Holzfaster

Intercultural Communication

2/16/15

Participation Paper #5

Living On One Dollar

            When reflecting back throughout the past week, deciding on what I wanted to write my participation paper over was easy. After watching the film “Living On One Dollar” I was not only shocked, but also inspired to be more thankful for the life I have and not take things for granted. There was many times throughout the film that I sat back and reflected on the lives that some people have and compared them to my own personal life. In my opinion, the challenge that those four men put themselves through, aloud other people who were watching the film to recognize how severe the living conditions and the amount of hardship that the people in rural Guatemala go through.

            Growing up in a family where I didn’t have to worry about where I would sleep at night or the chance that I wouldn’t eat one day, really made it tough to watch those families and even the men in the film live the life that they were everyday. There are many people in today’s world that struggle financially, but going to the extreme of living on only one dollar a day was a tough pill to swallow. The way that Zach, Chris, Sean, and Ryan made it a priority to do as much as they could to live the exact life that everyone in Guatemala lived, was not only a challenge in itself, but caused them to come together and find ways to solely stay alive at the expenses that they had. As the days went on, the men found more and more ways to get through each day, but it wasn’t easy.  

            Ever since the day we watched that film in class I have found myself reflecting on certain decisions I make, purchases I’ve come upon, and what I’m thankful for. While most people don’t think about these types of things on a daily basis, I made it a priority to imagine my life in those people’s shoes and how different my life would be like.

            Being more thankful and grateful for the life I have is something that I reflect on a daily basis now. There can be so many up’s and down’s in life, but making sure that we make the best out of everyday is important. So that’s exactly what I’m going to do.