Give Back- for my Opinion Writing Class

The world is unbalanced.

A famine sweeps across East Africa. Many people walk for weeks to make it to the Dadabb refugee camp in Kenya. They arrive in desperate condition, feet raw and bloodied, emotions shaken from attacks by bandits. Not only is food and water scarce inside the camp, but the overcrowded Dadabb refuge camp is facing criminal attacks as well.

According to an article by BBC News, a reporter watched mothers arrive with fewer children than they had when they set off on their journey. People carried stick-thin babies, desperate for food. The camp is quickly running out of resources.

I had a conversation with a friend a while back about the absurdity of human behavioral norms. The exact subject of our conversation was the famine in Kenya. She talked about how easy it would be for many people to hop on a plane and go do whatever you can, wherever you can. The immediate things that take up our time hear isen’t as imedate as the needs of some other people.

I thought about how many people in Kenya the food thrown away at restraints and grocery stores could feed. I then thought about it less globally, saying how strange it was that a homeless man can be outside at night in the freezing winter near an unoccupied hotel room.

My friend told me that Ball State Dining once asked her to throw away dozens of boxes of pasta that was in perfect condition. Why not donate this food to the Muncie Mission? It’s trendy to ‘go green’ and focus on the condition of the environment right now, but what about the condition of people?

We were talking about how weird it is that, despite how global the world has become and how easy is it is to communicate with and travel from one country to the next, people still mostly focus on what’s going on with their own lives. We seem unaffected by the lives of other people, and live as if we are the centers of our own universe.

If I am going to take up space in the world, I want to give back to it. I don’t think it’s enough to just be a “good person” if you are not striving to be good for something. We are not the centers of our own worlds.

The philosophical question of how responsible a person should be for the next person is a question that I do not have the space or time to tackle right now. However, I will say that I believe that unless you live so carefully that you never fail at anything, and have such perfect circumstances that you never need anyone’s help, it simply comes down to treating others the way we wanted to be treated because we all need help sometimes.

Americans don’t have to travel to Kenya to be a part of the bigger world around them. Offer to help a family member, roommate, or friend with a project or assignment. No matter how little time we think we have, we should make time to do something without expending to get anything in return for your time of effort.

As Ball State student’s, there are plenty of opportunities to help others from various student organizations. Student Voluntary Services can connect volunteers with organization such as the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware County, Muncie Mission, Harvest Soup Kitchen, Collage Mentors for Kids and Cornerstone Center for the Arts. Other organizations have similar outreach efforts. Last semester, the Japan Club made paper cranes to raise awareness and money after an earthquake hit Japan. Cru has created a cardinal outreach team, which allows Ball State students to go out into the Muncie community on various service projects.

In addition, simply making time for the people you care about and letting them know that you care about them is a way to get out of our ‘self’ bubbles. Listen to people and get a better understanding of their ideals and problems while being honesty about yourself with them.

Smile at strangers on your way to class.

Americans can donate money that will go towards water, food, and vaccinations as part of the Kenya relief efforts at www.usaaid.gov. In the words of Gandhi, “ Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Blog Directory

I follow a lot of blogs, I decided to share.

In addition, you can find me here: http://krsmith.tumblr.com/ http://bright-pretty-things.tumblr.com/


Personal Blogs

http://comeupfromthewilderness.tumblr.com/
http://freedomreigns.tumblr.com/
http://godsperfectwill.tumblr.com/
http://deebella123.tumblr.com/
http://gabi.tumblr.com/
http://man-of-god.tumblr.com/
http://somethingsobering.tumblr.com/
http://todayisawindingroad.tumblr.com/
http://whereartthouwildthings.tumblr.com/
http://bombinabirdcage.tumblr.com/
http://theavant-gardeplaylist.tumblr.com
http://aheartfortheheartless.tumblr.com/
http://jaycechandler.tumblr.com/
http://fragilefears.tumblr.com/
http://classyliving.tumblr.com/
http://skripture-sketches.tumblr.com/
http://corycopeland.tumblr.com/
http://jspark3000.tumblr.com/
http://mikeclevenger.tumblr.com/-
http://atomos.tumblr.com/
http://writingwrong.tumblr.com/
http://christlivesinme.tumblr.com/
http://depose.tumblr.com/
http://bithia.tumblr.com/
http://tanzimitchell.tumblr.com/
http://mustardseedguy.tumblr.com/
http://surrealcamille.tumblr.com/
http://all-the-rave.tumblr.com/
http://daughter-of-the-living-king.tumblr.com/
http://the3nails.tumblr.com/
http://burningone.tumblr.com/
http://gertier.tumblr.com/
http://modestlygorgeous.tumblr.com/
http://luminate.tumblr.com/
http://heavyheartsgrowlighter.tumblr.com/
http://wildyounghearttt.tumblr.com/
http://dbrumby.tumblr.com/
http://abideinhislove.tumblr.com/
http://loveistodismissyourfears.tumblr.com/
http://sagemoon.tumblr.com/
http://inspiredglory.tumblr.com/
http://kristinchantel.tumblr.com/
http://lashante.tumblr.com/
http://misguidedphantoms.tumblr.com/
http://soundclouds.tumblr.com/




Writing blogs:
http://chaiivee.tumblr.com/
http://voicesarentenuf.com/
http://yanimo.tumblr.com/
http://tylerknott.com/
http://readingavidly.tumblr.com/
http://writersoftumblr.tumblr.com/
http://yeahwriters.tumblr.com/
http://catrinwrites.tumblr.com/
http://10000sidewalks.tumblr.com/
http://underparasols.tumblr.com/
http://poeticallyprofound.tumblr.com/
http://maybehaiku.tumblr.com/
http://corycopeland.tumblr.com/
http://littlebirdsings.tumblr.com/
http://fyeahwriterleopard.tumblr.com/
http://twaynepoetry.tumblr.com/
http://theinklens.tumblr.com/
http://writeoneleaf.tumblr.com/
http://wadlington.tumblr.com/
http://eecummings.tumblr.com/
http://icanread.tumblr.com/



Music blogs:

http://rogiaeu.tumblr.com/
http://imadeintruth.com/
http://tanishasings.tumblr.com/
http://fuckyeahsweetmusic.tumblr.com/



Other awesome blogs:


http://nprfreshair.tumblr.com/
http://ednhm.tumblr.com/
http://typographicverses.com/
http://twloha.tumblr.com/
http://tomyfuturespouse.tumblr.com/
http://takingbackbeautiful.tumblr.com/
http://lettertomybeloved.tumblr.com/
http://black-girl-problems.tumblr.com/
http://onbeinganinfp.tumblr.com/
http://shetakesflight.tumblr.com/
http://teachingliteracy.tumblr.com/
http://etiquetteforalady.tumblr.com/
http://fuckyeahbraids.tumblr.com/
http://beliefandknowledge.tumblr.com/
http://fuckyeahowlcity.tumblr.com/
http://ariddlewrappedinmystery.tumblr.com/
http://fuckyeahgirlyart.tumblr.com/
http://lovelydisney.tumblr.com/
http://ayanatural.tumblr.com/
http://blackfashion.tumblr.com/
http://fuckyeahlost.com/
http://fuckyeahwonderland.tumblr.com/
http://fuckyeahlupefiasco.tumblr.com/
http://happythings.tumblr.com/

So I found a pretty hilarious youtube show called the ‘awkward black girl.’ I sat and watched 7 episodes. Just wanted to share.

Because I love you

Just posting because it's adorable.

I look at someone and think: “You exist.”

And it’s the most miraculous thing to realize.

And we are coexisting. They do not simply exist for me, nor I for them; But we exist within the lives of each other.

That’s so spectacular.

Sometimes, it’s hard to breathe with so many tiny things like that going on in each moment.

I am like an athlete that has neglected her craft, a sprinter who only runs when forced to for competitions sake. A soccer player who, between games, keeps her soccer ball locked up in a dark, damp basement. I am using muscles that are in pain because I didn’t stretch before the game. This is how it feels when I try to write for fun.

I remember when words came as naturally as the seasons. They were messy and misspelled, but faithful nonetheless.

Today, I found myself in a room full of writers, sipping black coffee and discussing how we were all going to write and publish a book by the end of the semester. While sitting in that room that I realized I am both in love with and afraid of stories.

I remember the first time I saw my byline in a newspaper. I was sixteen and it had just been published in The Indianapolis Star through Y-press, a youth media organization. Granted, I wrote this story with a team of 5 other high school students and the final printed version looked nothing like what we had actually written. But my name was on the page nonetheless. I felt accomplished. This was one of the things that helped me fall in love with creating stories (In addition to reading books, but possibly more on that later).

I also remember having a blog. This blog was my attempt to be honest and talk about my life. I wanted to be truthful. This is the world through my eyes, this is what happened, this is my story.

The messy thing about our stories is that they involve other people sometimes (Unless you live as hermits live. Hermit life seems appealing at time to an introvert such as myself, but I know I am made for bigger and better things. I want to make a difference in the world, that’s all.) Someone got offend over something that I had written about them in my story about me. And even though I tried to explain that this was really how I felt from my perspective, it was a mess. I realized that words are dangerous tools that can be used to hurt of heal, and you had to be careful with them.

Going into this project, I know that we are going to write about ourselves. And we are also going to write about the people we have come across in life who made us who we are. We will speak about fears, dreams and failures. We will talk about the time we made a stupid decision or the time we hurt someone we cared about or the time we were hurt and the times we were healed. We will wonder if we really want our parents, teachers, pastors, or friends reading our stories, but we will tell it anyways because as journalist, writers and people we know that to have the truth and not share it is a great crime.

I still believe the most important factor in writing is bravery. The next more important factor is honesty. And I hope to accompany both.

Thoughts

I love looking and I love having eyes and I love having glass to put over my eyes because they are broken. I love painting and I love shadows and reflections. I love leaves and I love that they have veins and I love that they die and make sounds when I step on them. I love eavesdropping and I love being places where I’m not obligated to speak and I love people who I can speak to and I love people who I don’t have to speak to. I love a variety of animals and I love sand and the beach and uneven sidewalks and doors and door frames and paint that is cracked and things made of wood. like trees. which are a thing I love. and I love clementines and national geographic and pictures of people being people. I love people with honest eyes and patterns and patterns on people with honest eyes.