St. Patty's Day: Parades vs. Protests

Parades are someplace you bring the kids. Candy flies from float. Beads get tossed into crowds. There's popcorn vendors, loud crowds, unpleasant Johnnys, marching bands, goofy clowns, floats, and the list goes on and on.

Protests. They usually aren't someplace you bring the fam. Sure they can be quiet, respectful. They can be enjoyable and fun. But they're not really about celebration.

Parades= fun.
Protests= causes.

I am not saying we need to get out there and protest the way protests are viewed, but I do think we should find some middle ground. I am not really talking about political issue protests but on cause related protests. We need to find some middle ground, grow in our understanding, and realize there are many important ways to use our time- making our voices heard included.

Off the Shelf

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo is a great read for a young change maker. After Jean Valjean gets out of prison, one man's kindness is enough to turn his life into one of selflessness. Through kindness, love, and devotion he becomes a new man.

Jean Valjean is pursued by the ghosts of his past and one man who is determined to send him back to prison. Could Jean Valjean's compassion be so powerful that it could influence the very people determined to bring him down?

Another Ugandan Prover

You can't dig with a spade handle, but it helps the spade to dig.

For Them

It is more than a project. Service benefits real people.

For them take action.

My l...o...n...g Day

Today was a long day. This morning feels like a year ago and its only four o'clock.

Usually when I say this it's an extraordinarily exciting day: I started at five thirty and my head didn't hit my pillow until midnight. Sometimes I travelled, hit up an event, hung out with friends, and accomplished something major all on the same day.

Today was a long day.

Sometimes I mean it was an emotionally trying day. I felt drained. I was excited, demoralized, disappointed, and relieved. Sometimes it means this.

Today was a long day.

And I really don't know why. It was a good day- not an overwhelmingly exciting day. It was a consistant day- no remarkable dissapointments or excitements. It was just a long day.

Looking back on this long day I can't help but smile. It didn't look like an important day but it was a good day. I got to school early and helped plan an upcoming event. We went to service. I got back a test I thought was difficult (and did okay) and took a test that really was difficult (and hoped I did okay). I ate lunch with great friends, learned a couple of new things, came home and worked on NETwork stuff and sat down trying to think of something to blog about.

So yeah- today was a long day. It wasn't exceptionally exciting or exceptionally emotionally trying, but it WAS exceptional- because I had fun and learned and suceeded and struggled and accomplished and laughed and just loved being me today.

And the funny thing: its only four o'clock.

Shout out to some awesome volunteers!

Thanks so much Rachel, Donyelle, and Nate!

DYC Weekend

NETwork Against Malaria supporters are prepping for this weekend with beads, baskets and a couple bottles of caffine. We're headed off to the Dioceasan Youth Conference to share our wares and our story with teenagers from across southern Illiois. Our goal: Walk away with a few bucks, a few more pieces of jewelry, and a bunch more volunteers. Cross your fingers and we may even get a chapter out of the weekend.

So this weekend is about youth empowerement and NETwork-ing. It's about meeting people and inspiring people and causing them to take action. It's about showing people the faces of Ugandan children and challenging them not to look away, not to ignore, not to forgot. It's about helping people realize that although we're an ocean away there is so much we can do for those smiling children.