Hyper-reality

hyper-reality: the image created by the media of what our lives should look like; usually is associated with the phrase "I will be happy when..."

Will you be happy when you lose that last ten pounds? Will you be happy when you move out of your parents house? Will you be happy when that one thing is eliminated from your life?

Let's be real, here.

My Christmas List

It's Black Friday. Everyone knows what that means- Christmas season has officially started. Since everyone is doing their Christmas shopping, everyone is asking what they want for Christmas. What do I want for Christmas?

I want a truly free county.
I want a family that gets along.
I want Christ's love to be known in all the nations.
I want every hungry child fed. 
I want hyper-reality to end. 
I want women to feel safe.
I want men to be protectors, not perpetrators. 
I want world peace.

I could spend hours listing the problems of this world, but people will always look at me and say, "okay what do you really want?" I've got a more important question, why does it matter what I want?

Think of your life five years ago, did anything drastically change you? I'm sure something did, but I highly doubt it was a Bath and Body Works bath set. I doubt it was a gift certificate from Best Buy. I doubt it was that pair of pants you never wore. What impact will the presents you buy have on your loved ones in five years? Five months?

There's nothing wrong with buying presents for people-giving is a wonderful thing. What are you going to buy, though? What are you going to ask for? What are you going to do?

 I cannot be silent anymore. I cannot sit here and receive cute outfits and think how wonderful my life is. Don't get me wrong, my life is wonderful. I am blessed beyond understanding, but it's not about me. It's not about the stuff. It's not about any of this. It's about them. I encourage you as you are Christmas shopping this year, buy something that will change a life. Buy something that won't leave you or the recipient the same. Maybe you'll purchase an encouraging book, or donate to a charity, or even buy a gas card for someone who doesn't have a lot of money. It doesn't matter what you do, just do something.

http://www.kyampisi.org/Programmes/End-Child-Sacrifice.aspx

Blissfully Ignorant

Blissfully ignorant. It's a wonderful thing, right? To be ignorant, to be unknowing, to live in a world of population 1. I am seventeen years old, and I am wanting to put an end to ignorance.

I look around my house, and am disgusted. I see a fully-stocked fridge, a flat screen television, and closets full of clothes. The ironic part? We aren't considered well-off, not even close. I sit here typing this on my mother's computer because mine is too slow. I think of my selfishness and I want to spit.

As I check my email, I see tons of advertisements for children who need food, and people who are enslaved. I think to myself, how sad, and sign a petition. Rarely do I think, there are people in this world who cannot even walk because of their physical weakness. People who walk miles and miles to find clean water. People who are raped continuously because someone found them as an amenity. You hear these things as well, but do you listen? Do you hear the millions crying out for help? The millions whom to us are just that-millions. They are a number. We don't acknowledge that the little girl dying of AIDS isn't some prostitute, but in fact, a victim of a father who raped her because he believed it would cure his illness. The saddest part of these statistics? They didn't know any better.

The sickening part of that reality is that we're just like that man. We cause pain through our indifference. We might throw a few coins in a red bucket outside Wal-Mart, but do we really care? Do we care that people are dying everyday? They are dying of things that are simply nuisances to us. What if you were African? What if you were Thai? What if you were Chinese?

We are so blessed to live where we live. We are so blessed to have what we have, but what about them? Most of the time, it's not their fault. They are victims for a reason. They are victims because someone is yet to save them.

I'm not saying that you should sell all your possessions and buy a one-way ticket to Africa, but you can if you want to. I'm saying we all have talents. We all have hearts. We all have something missing. We all have something to give. We can give our attention-our minds and souls. We can stop looking at the cute dying African children and saying, "aw." We can start looking at them and saying, "their parents are dead." "They wake up in incredible pain everyday." "They don't know where there next meal is coming from." "They don't know how long they are going to live." As sad as it is, that's the truth-the cold heart truth. We live in a sad, sad world, but unlike those children, we can do something about it.

I'm ready to start a revolution. I'm not asking for your money. I'm not asking for your friendship. I'm asking you to take a minute to step out of your life and just care. Care about the tragedies of this world. Care about the injustice. Care about the broken. Care about the abused. Care about those that are faceless, nameless. I agree with Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, when he said. "Indifference, to me, is the epitome of evil."

Barely There

Inadequacy. That seems to be the reappearing theme in my life. College Admissions. Friends. Scholarships. Finances. Family. I'm not looking for pity...One more opinion might be the death of me.

I'm above average. I've known this my entire life. I was always decently smart, decently nice, just decent. Lately I've realized, though, decent isn't good enough.

There is nothing that can ever prepare you for your last year of high school. It is one of the most stressful times of a person's life. Over and over the same question is being asked, what are you going to do with your life? Most seventeen-year-olds don't know and the ones that do haven't the slightest idea of how to accomplish it.

Do you want to go to college? Technical school? Start a career? If you do, how are you going to get there? When you're younger, they tell you to stay in school, but don't give much further guidance. They don't tell you that staying in school isn't enough. Being college ready isn't enough. Sometimes, being the best isn't enough.

The biggest stress in my life right now is how I am going to pay around $100,000 for an education. I qualify some scholarships, whether it be need- or merit-based. But some isn't enough. It isn't okay to put some effort into things. It isn't okay to be amongst some of the best. You need to at least strive for excellence. I tried what I thought was my hardest, but the academic top ten strove three times harder.

In life, someone will always be better-this much is fact. I can deal with that. If someone is going in the same direction as me, though, shouldn't we be striving for the same things? If not, won't I just be selling myself short?

Settling is never acceptable. Good enough is no longer good enough. Somehow I will find ways to pay for my much-deserved education. I'm not sure how, but I'm not so sure that matters. The point is well, I guess we're all still figuring that out.