Let's Talk about being Blessed...

Hi guys, how are you all doing? As you all know, I've been in the Dominican Republic for the past week or so. I don't know if you know this or not, but I am actually of Dominican descent. Which means, that when I come here, it is to spend time with family and go to places that aren't "touristy". I go to most areas that the locals go to.

I had a post pre-planned already, but I honestly felt pretty strongly about this, and decided to move this post up. Dominican Republic is an extremely poor and corrupt country. You can donate all the money in the world to this country, and the government eats it all up. It never trickles down to the people who need it the most.

While this happens everwhere in the world, it's worse when it happens in countries where people need it the most. Things that I take for granted on a daily basis, is something considered of a luxury here.

Coming to the Dominican Republic really humbles me as an individual. It so simple for me to get used to my lifestyle in the United States, and not realize how lucky I truly am. I wanted to write this post for everyone (specially my readers in the States, Canada, and Europe) to realize that most of us don't have it that bad.

Over here, we have no hot water, so the option is to either take a shower in ice cold water or to heat your water up. It's something so simple, and where we barely think about! I literally turn the knob on my faucet and the warm water appears, and here they don't get that luxury.

Another thing I noticed is that everything here is SO expensive. How can a country as poor as this one, deal with prices almost twice as high as the prices where I live? They pay over $100 to fill up a Toyota Corolla, while where I live you pay between $20-30. That's just one example!

I can literally go on and on about the differences between our country and theirs, but I want you guys to all sit down for a moment and really think about how great it is to live where we live. Stop taking for granted all the luxuries we have, and realize that we are extremely blessed.

I live in a world, where I can afford to spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, on makeup I want (not need). I can afford to buy dozens of outfits, for the sake of keeping up with trends. I have the luxury of being able to drink my tap water if I really wanted to. I can walk around with my phone in my hand (yes, I can do that in NYC), without worrying about being held at gunpoint or by a knife. I have the luxury of not worrying about my electricity going out at any moment. For god's sake, I have the luxury of being able to buy anything I want on Amazon, and get it shipped to my house in two days!

I'm not bashing on any countries who do not have this access, because this country has loads of natural beauty to offer, especially in the touristy areas. I just feel like it's nice to self-reflect on the wonderful things we take for granted every single day.

What things do you take for granted on a day to day basis? I really hoped you enjoyed reading about this. Have a wonderful day/night! Sending you all love, strength, and positive vibes.

-Melina xxx