The Blue Sweater
I was very excited to be assigned to read The Blue Sweater, by Jacqueline Novogratz after hearing her on Ted Talk in class. From her Ted Talk, I could tell that she is a very passionate individual that thrives off helping others. I really respect Jacqueline and look up to her. And I am really looking forward to reading her book and being able to learn and see how her strong passion came about.
The first thing that caught my interest was the title of the book, The Blue Sweater. It was interesting to learn about the story behind the blue sweater. Jacqueline owned a blue sweater that she loved and wore all the time, but after being made fun of when wearing it, she donated it to Goodwill. Years later, she saw that same sweater on a little boy when volunteering in Rwanda. This just comes to show that we are all connected.
The quote that caught my attention the most was when Jacqueline went to explore the the slums of Hillside Rio. She wanted to experience not only the rich but the poor parts of as well. "I'd never experienced such poverty alongside such wealth before, and I'd also never felt such a strong desire to make a difference or felt so fully alive." This quote was so powerful because it was in this moment that she realized how unfortunate some peoples lives really are and realized her calling. All in this one moment, she also realized how she has been living in a bubble and has not really seen the "real world", until now. Overall, I really enjoyed the reading so far and I am looking forward to learning more about Jacqueline and her journey.
Its interesting to read how her perspective changed and how she found her calling. Seeing poverty and wealth side by side in the same location really does show us how unfortunate some souls are and how fortunate our lives are
ReplyDeleteI found that quote also so powerful. Its very weird to think that people can enjoy their wealth while watching people in their community suffer from poverty.
ReplyDeleteWow, the blue sweater story is so touching. I can't believe she found her sweater again on a child in Rwanda! What are the odds.
ReplyDeleteI really liked watching her on ted talk as well and actually wanted to get assigned this book because of that too. I have the Challenge for Africa though, so hopefully I can continue to get a sense of this book through your blog posts like this one.
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