Final Farewell

So all the bags are packed and I am ready to go; but I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye to all of you beautiful people. There has been so much to be grateful for in 2009. Project FIERCE is off and running! I hope that you have all enjoyed our time together. I will miss my hometown and all my friends.

Before I leave let me leave you with the three quotes that were on my cubicle wall for the past two years. They have inspired me, and gotten me through the rough days.

“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly.”
~ Albert Einstein 1940

This quote has gotten me through some of the toughest times in my life. It applies so much to HIV prevention. There is so much stigma and shame in this world that we have to be courageous and honest about this disease to defeat the mediocre mind.


“No real social change has ever been brought about without a revolution... revolution is but thought carried into action.”
~Emma Goldman

Again, so true! Social Change is what my life is always about. Changing the minds and helping to change some behavior. To me a revolution does not have to be some huge uprising. You can have a personal revolution. Like Miss Goldman says, it is just a thought carried into action.
And Finally:

“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”
~ Dolly Parton

Who doesn’t love Dolly? Amazing talent and insight into the world; this is the most obvious and simple statement, yet, it is the one we always forget. Things will always get better! Just remember, Dolly says so.

So that is what I looked at everyday for 2 years. Those are the things that reminded me that I must continue to do what I do. I hope they inspire you all to do something extraordinary in your life.

Well, kids I am off to save the world!



XOXO,

Patricio!