First Post

Welcome to my page! This is the first post on a blog that I have ever written, so please be patient if I don't really know how to begin. I guess I'll start by explaining who I am and why I even have a blog.

My name is Cara and I'm 19 years old. I grew up in Connecticut, but I am attending the University of Rhode Island and currently live here. I absolutely love this school, but definitely not the tuition costs. Well that's another story we won't get to. But anyway, I'm majoring in Public Health Studies and minoring in Nonviolence and Peace Studies. I am extremely passionate about domestic abuse awareness, education, and prevention. Domestic abuse has been considered a public health issue now for a while, so that is why I'm majoring in that. My minor is pretty self-explanitory but it's very cool.

I am involved on campus as a peer advocate at the Women's Center. As a peer advocate I provide my peers with...advocacy. I'll try not to be too redundant but that one's a little hard to side-step. But what it basically means is I am trained mainly in sexual assault and domestic violence, so if someone on campus is having trouble with one of those issues I can provide advocacy. This is my first semester being a peer advocate and I LOVE it! It's a lot of work, but it's only as much as you put in to it.

My main goal career-wise is to work for an organization that educates society about domestic abuse, but eventually I want to develop my own organization that focuses solely on prevention starting at a young age. My theory is that victims typically have either low self-esteem or a low sense of self-worth. This may stem from childhood or any other parts of their life, or simply just their personality. If everyone learns to love and respect themselves and gain a healthier self-image, then they will be less tolerant of abuse.

Well, this is a very long first post, so I think I'll end here! I apologize if the subject is depressing, but I promise this blog is meant to create hope, self-sufficiency, and most importantly inspiration.
Copyright © 2011 Cara Mackler