Determination and Concentration

Last Wednesday, we visited Jane Addams' Hull House Museum. It was interesting because I kind of had a slight epiphany.
I've gone through the past year planning on transfering to the college of urban planning and public affairs. I wanted to concentrate on the public schools and community development. But after hearing about everything that Jane Addams did with the creation of Hull House, I realized that that, what she did, was basically what I want to do. She created a place that acted as a safe haven not just for kids, but for the adults, too. She integrated the neighborhood by bringing rich, educated people into an area that did not have much going for itself. Just the fact that she was able to find people willing to do that shows how determined she was to put this plan into action.
After hearing about the ridicule that Jane Addams received for all her work, I realized that doing something like she did was not just brave, but required a constant state of mind that that's what she was going to do. She had to persevere through rough conditions and hardly any help from other people. And with that determination that she displayed, she was able to change an entire community for the better. She gave everyone hope that things could get better. She provided residents with lessons in various fields so they could get better jobs for themselves. She offered a daycare that was always there for parents, whether or not they could pay the fee. She just put the area in a better state of mind, in a way.
And like I said, that's what I want to do. I want to be able to go into a neighborhood that needs help and be that help. I want to be the one who, by incorporating many of the aspects Jane Addams focused on, can go in there and change things, make them better. But I know it's so much easier said than done. And I'm just not sure if I have the same determination and drive that Jane Addams had. She has, in a sense, become someone who I admire and who I shall aspire to be.