reject apathy

"Even a student earning $105 a week is wealthier than 85 percent of the world."

As I was reading an article on rejectapathy.org, I came across this stat. It made me uncomfortable.

This isn't just about Americans being wealthy. I know that. We all do. It's about me. I'm a college student who has the means to make 100 bucks a week. And, based on that alone, I am richer than 85 percent of the world.

There's some cliche saying that with wealth comes a lot of responsibility, and it's true. With this knowledge, I realize I have to do something. I cannot sit with any sense of entitlement and spend all my money on me. Nor can I just turn a blind eye and pretend I don't know any better as I make frivolous purchases.

I have to be more intentional about every investment of money... and of time and energy because, I'm richer than at least 85 percent of the world. I have the power to make a difference... a responsibility to act. In my mind, at least 85 percent of the world is counting on me to make a difference and to, well, reject apathy.

shift

I felt so inexplicably tired in the late afternoon today. The day of work drained me way more than usual. As I got into my car, I found myself longing to drive home and lounge on the sofa or take a nap (something I never do). Unfortunately, I needed to head to campus for a 3.5 hour night class. Most of the car ride down to campus, my mind was consumed with thoughts of how to treat myself in order to wake up.

And then, I stopped to consider - if I feel this drained after 6 hours of work in the office, how drained must a slave laborer, forced to work 12-16 hours each day, must feel at all times.

No, this train of thought didn't grant me any new sense of energy. Far from it. It did, however, help me shift my thoughts from myself to other people. This life isn't all about me and my own sense of comfort. I forget that fact way too frequently in a society that constantly screams, "Me! Me! Me!" My current state and circumstances are way beyond what most will ever know, and I need to remain grounded in the realities of other beyond just myself. Shifting focus to others is essential, and I hope to be reminded to do so time and time again.

fall

Fall is here.

I do not attribute this to the weather, for the weather certainly can't make up its mind. Perhaps the fallen red leaves that crunched under my feet on my walk today gave some semblance of fall, but I attribute this declaration to the distinctly autumn meals I had consumed recently. I love the change in ingredients and meals that comes with the turn of the seasons. At Granville, I have been enjoying their butternut squash soup. While at home, I got a taste of my mom's signature chili. Apples of all sorts have infused my meals. And tonight, I roasted some acorn squash. Topped with a bit of butter and cinnamon it was delicious and served as a perfect mark of fall.

miscellany

random things for you to check out:

1. emma thompson's art installation on sex trafficking
too bad it's in NY not LA...

2. this random song that popped up on Pandora
i love pandora

rain

I'm not usually that big of a fan of rainy days. They are best when you can curl up and watch a movie, but in reality they typically interfere with other happenings it seems.

Today, I was a fan of the rain though. Everyone moves so fast in L.A. But today, it seemed the rain created a sort of slow down. On the road, people realized they couldn't fly past or drive quite as recklessly as they generally tend to around here. And, I personally wasn't in a huge hurry when I was out and about, so the rain proved less stressful and almost, dare I say, calming. Plus, I had a little Greg Laswell to keep me company as I drove. Perfect rainy day music.

In any event, I enjoyed the gentle reminder to relax and slow down. If only I had consumed a big bowl of butternut squash soup or my mom's homemade chili - that would have been the perfect rainy day.

from scratch

I have a number of interests and passions, but I've come to realize a common vein running through them all - I love making things from scratch. Making music is all about generating melodies where there once was silence. Baking is about combing separate ingredients to form something entirely new.

At CHLA yesterday, I was designing a donor follow-up piece, thanking individuals for their contributions to a recent event. Basically, they told me they needed this piece, but the rest was up to me. (Working at a non-profit is awesome because they are generally understaffed, so you really get to get your hands dirty.) So, I had the opportunity to use my creativity to come up with the whole concept of the piece and design it - essentially make it from scratch. Though it's not done yet, it's the whole process of making something from scratch that I love.