Jacinda won the 2019 Droste and Yoneko Award for Outstanding Work in Poetry, has been published in Kanilehua numerous times, is currently working on Kanilehua for the 2020-2021 academic year, and is in the process of finalizing her own nonprofit foundation to help the homeless.
My Journey into the Light of Altruism
By: Jacinda Angelsberg
Mending broken hearts, lifting the fallen, and healing the hurting is my obligation. Throughout my life, I nomadically moved in search of a place with a peaceful atmosphere and educational opportunities where I could manifest this heartfelt dream. Navigating through new landscapes opened my eyes to the widespread issue of homelessness which influenced me to uplift others when they are down. This has allowed me to understand that the precious lives of each human being are blank pages waiting to be written on. Each time I traveled, my passion of compassion unraveled. Once I relocated from my hometown, San Clemente, California, to the Big Island, I knew that Hilo was indeed the place to call “home.” Learning the importance of shedding light on the virtue of embracing the rainbow of cultural diversity at UH Hilo has made my heart overflow with immense gratitude since this experience will someday assist me in helping people from all walks of life.
Despite having high functioning autism, I had to work very hard during the course of my schooling. My ambitious persistence served as a stepping stone for my transition from being in the special education department in elementary school to graduating as a valedictorian at Hilo High School. Once I transformed myself, I strived to transform others. From that point on, I realized that my quest here on Earth is to become a clinical psychologist. In order to pursue my ultimate career goal in addition to being an author, I will complete my B.A. in Psychology at UH Hilo in two years. Thereafter, I aspire to obtain a M.A. in Counseling and a PsyD in Clinical Psychology as I embark on my exciting journey of altruism. This will guide me to my higher purpose of being a moral compass with the mission of inspiring people to heal their psychological wounds as they achieve spiritual wholeness. It is my aspiration to listen to the whispers of a person’s soul and help him or her alleviate unwanted symptoms by using patience and wisdom as the most revitalizing forms of healing.
Humankind’s survival is so dependent on the hospitality of other sentient beings that a vital need for loving-kindness lies at the central core of our existence. Thus, one interesting aspect about myself is that I recently founded the Angelsberg Foundation, a non-profit organization, in order to provide free access to psychiatric services, life-coaching, rehabilitation programs, food, clothing, and other key necessities for homeless individuals who suffer from trauma, substance use disorders, and mental illness. By giving homeless individuals in Los Angeles, Waikiki, and Hilo care packages and taking the time to listen to their life-stories, I found myself by losing myself in the altruistic service of others. I also take their portraits and compose poetry to open humanity’s eyes that these individuals are not invisible. To gain awareness about the epidemic of homelessness, please take a look at my corresponding photography and peruse my free-verse, “Invisible,” from Stepping Out of the Spiritual Closet:
Invisible
“Invisible” (Echo Park, Los Angeles)
“The Power of Love” (Hilo, HI)
Can you hear the crying echo
Of the hoary-headed homeless lady
Reverberate across the superficial soulless streets
Of Echo Park? No black and white cars
Imprisoned in un-enlightenment’s dark abyss
Refusing to look down at her frown
From elevated tinted windshields barred
That shield them against the injustice of poverty
Stop to park their mechanical detention cells
And see if she’s dying slowly with her withering body
Crouched lowly on a crosswalk
Where no one takes time to talk
To this woman dressed in cloaked gray garbs
Invisible as a ghost.
A pedestrian in a prison-striped T-shirt
Ignores sadness singing masked out by the phone ringing
The sound of his heart that’s hard
Like the cold cement pavement.
Liberate yourself from the enslavement
Of ignorance by not showing
Blindness to human kindness.
Remove the blindfold from your eyes
And awaken to end suffering.
From this poem, you can see that the homeless have a powerful voice that must be heard. Our utmost responsibility is to not ignore the suffering of others by radiating the compassionate light of divine love through positive vibes. No human being should be left behind. Overall, the instillment of inner-strength within myself led to my goal of cultivating resilience and hope in each wounded person’s spirit who comes my way thus far as a student. Even though there are still countless struggling people in this world, I can start by making a difference, one person at a time.