Some adolescents and teenagers have left home willingly due to abuse, including violence, substance, and/or sexual abuse. Others have been kicked out of their homes for not abiding by rules, including the following of heterosexual or religious norms. Without familial support and without having completed educational goals, a downward spiral can seem imminent.
By sheer chance, I was born into a family that exudes stability. With their Old World ways, my immigrant parents are among the strangest and most wonderful people I know; they approach life with unmatched resourcefulness and appreciation.
For example, few things make my uncustomary mother cringe as much as the gift of cut flowers – an avid gardener, she would plead with us to not sacrifice them with the explanation that flowers would provide beauty longer if we left them attached to their roots. In the same vein, my father owns two sweaters – one black with blue, the other brown with cream – and insists that he needs no more, despite the ridicule of his fastidious children. Both of my parents treat every book or scrap of paper containing knowledge as if it were found treasure.
As a teenager in a society where items and people are often treated as disposable, I rebelled against their oddities and have only come to embrace them upon being released into this "real world" of which everyone had spoken. I now see clearly that their mentality of conservation and compassion for all living things allows one to both give and get the most out of this chaotic world.
With that mindset in hand, we implemented a yoga program at our local drop-in center, where homeless youth can come for food, clothing, hygiene products, and counseling services. Originally, our project aimed to provide weekly yoga classes. But, as with most fledgling efforts with limited resources, it required some finagling. We had to limit our class participation to two to four students per session due to the modest size of our borrowed counselor’s office. However, this seeming obstacle turned out to be ideal due to both the transient nature of our target population and the privacy it provides.
To my delight, the intimate nature of our yoga sessions transformed them into much more: Our students ask about smoking cessation, safe sex practices, teen pregnancy, domestic abuse, substance abuse, and how to pursue their dreams – a few hoping to become yoga instructors themselves.
In a population whose lives are rife with turmoil, our sessions, while unconventional, provide a source of stability – not unlike that which my lovably peculiar parents provide for me. Our project allows me to share the good fortune I have had and simultaneously encompasses the aspects of family medicine that I hold most dear: creativity, resourcefulness, collective goodwill, and a holistic approach.
Reflecting on my experiences in El Guineo and New Orleans, I often think of the saying by the philosopher Lao Tzu: "When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, the people will say, ‘We did it ourselves.’ " To me, this statement embodies the spirit of community health and of family medicine.
As individuals, we are each a unique resource capable of disseminating our knowledge to empower the people. Together, we create communities capable of implementing sustainable changes. For while we cannot help that our flowers may have severed roots, some buds have been known to forge new ones with the right encouragement.
I am unspeakably fortunate to have been surrounded by support and opportunities that have cultivated my desire to strengthen communities. A career in family medicine would allow me to continue to create change to better humanity, to become prepared to meet challenges that may arise, and, above all else, to insist that respectable quality of life be deemed paramount for all – no matter where the chips may have landed.
Ms. Beg is an MD/MPH candidate in the Tulane University class of 2012.