This semester.. and even this past year I have learned more about myself than I ever thought I would. Well, basically three huge things that I think about every day.
1. I am not a complainer. Well, I complain about things, like my computer not working, my phone cracking, having to wake up early, and all that typical stuff we hear on a daily basis. But I've realized, that I'm not a huge complainer, and those who are, are not my kind of people. During my trip to Uganda we obviously encountered hot weather, food we weren't used to, and terrible driving. I could not believe how often people I was accompanied by were complaining about these conditions. I couldn't grasp the concept of how they didn't realize how lucky we were that (a.) we were living the good life compared to everyone else, (b.) we were on an AMAZING trip that was not worth complaining about. Down here in DC, I've also experienced a lot of complaining. About... basically everything. Having to go to class, having to go to their internship, not getting the coffee they ordered, and how much work they had to do. I definitely grumbled about waking up early for work, and having to read so much for class, but It just stuck out to me how often I would hear it. I don't understand how people think that complaining about everything will change their situation. I just don't think I am used to such ignorance of how lucky we all are. No matter what, we are given so many opportunities on a daily basis that do not deserve such complaints. Okay onto the next realization.
2. I've realized I have a huge passion surrounding education. Growing up with a teacher parent, I never thought I'd get into education. Awhile ago, I started to consider possibly teaching when I'm old, wise, experienced, and hopefully in demand for my insight. More recently, thanks to my experience in the Transforming Communities program, I've noticed how important education can be in actually bringing about change. As someone who is interested in international development, I've taken a very strong interest in the education of youth; especially young girls. (See post about She's the First). Before coming to D.C. and traveling to Uganda, I had known I wanted to work on development overseas, but I wasn't sure of what path I wanted to take within that motive. I'm so happy to have found what I'm passionate about; and I'm so happy that its education... as weird as that sounds.
3. The final realization I've come to is; if not me, who else? I've come to realize someone who is passionate about dedicating their life to the improvement of others is rare. I'm baffled every day by people who are not driven by statistics and stories detailing how much needs to be done in the world. When I hear the statistic "If all students in low income countries left school with basic reading skills 171 million people could be lifted out of poverty." I'm inspire by the possibility of change, and the opportunity to be apart of it. I read an article that discussed how many dialects in Uganda don't even have a word for cancer. As a result, thousands of women are dying of cancer; open sore cancer that eats away their breasts because they don't know to get treated. That story has stuck with me every sense and I've been researching what can be done. When I hear that today, 62 million girls didn't go to school, my heart breaks. I want to be the change for both these statistics. How can I be of only a few who are moved by this?
So that about sums up my rant about my personal realizations.
