Idealism and Volunteerism: A Rebeginning

So, I haven't written a blog in months

I don't really have a reason for not writing. I guess I got busy, but that doesn't seem to be a good justification. I guess I got disheartened by the fact that it didn't just take off and I didn't get instant gratification. But, one of the hardest lessons I have been learning is that I should do things JUST for the sake of doing them. That translates to learning for learning's sake, dancing for dancing's sake, volunteering for volunteering's sake, and blogging for blogging's sake.

I would like to take a step away from the deeply-rooted idealism that I held in the first two blogs. The reason I'm doing that is because idealism can be overwhelming. I wanted to change the whole world. I wanted to be a revolutionary and positive source for the public welfare. But, I can't do that as an individual.

One of the most humbling things to realize is that you are just one person. However, this doesn't mean that I can't be a positive force for change. What it means is that my change is going to be individualistic, and only one person at a time. I do wish for world peace, that people don't go hungry, that women and girls would be treated as equals (not better or worse), that every child could receive an education, that war would cease, that love would prevail, and that we worked for the common good.

But, I am only one person.

So, this blog is now going to become a forum for the PERSONAL stories and struggles to bring about a better world. I would love to expand to the far corners of the world, someday. However, I am going to start with myself, with the people I go to school with, and with my friends and family at other locations. I hope to build a network of good works, fresh ideas, personal testimonies, and good advice. I hope to provide resources, not by searching the vast internet, but by drawing upon personal references.

I leave you with two thoughts to consider, as we continue forward.

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other"
-Mother Teresa
As you go through your personal odysseys, remember that we are striving for a world in which people treasure the human collective, for we are precious.

"A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has"
-Margaret Mead
It is easy to be disheartened in the path of good works, because it seems to be a Herculean task. But, instead of trying to necessarily change the world, change what is front of you, for that is a microcosm of the world. Enough microcosms equals the world.

So, let's begin anew.

Much Love,
Celinda