Have you ever had one of those days where you start thinking about all of the stuff going on in the world and you feel guilty about only eating half of the food on your plate because you decided that watching television while you ate dinner would be something “different”? Or sometimes I have some random pain in some random part of my stomach and I think its appendicitis or gallstones because I read about the symptoms in some first aid book. Lately, I’ve really been liking that saying, “Ignorance is bliss”. Sometimes knowing more makes you paranoid or guilty. Sometimes I feel like I’d be able to live easier if I didn’t know about what happened in Rwanda and that the most powerful country in the world did nothing to help or that there are heaps of people in America who still think that going to war was the right thing to do or that there are people who have the audacity to be anti-abortion but be pro-death penalty. In countries all over the world, people are going to bed without dinner, drinking contaminated water and not going to school because they live to far or can’t afford a uniform while I still want that really snazzy juicer I saw at Big W. One thing is true, being a US citizen, there is plenty to do in America as far as humanitarian efforts go. But the main difference between American and everywhere else is that opportunities exist in America. If you’re homeless, can’t afford to go to school or have been raped there are heaps of resources available to relieve you of your situation. There are homeless shelters, free money from the government if you ask for it and crisis hotlines and centres. As far as developement, America has plenty of it I think. It’s over developed, if anything else.

Something inside of me has finally clicked and an alarm in going off inside telling me that I need to start giving back because I’ve received and taken so much. And I don’t feel guilty for having had a “good” life. Just lucky. Another even louder alarm is going off telling me that after THIS degree, I really need to start looking for a job. A career and a steady income would be really great, plus my loans aren’t going to pay themselves back. So where am I going with this endless banter?

To the Peace Corps, obviously.