My life

May 23, 2013

Where do I want my life to go? Standing on the road in Guelete I ponder this question. I've read two biographies in the past three days and it has lead me to wonder about the kind of person I want to be. One book was about a boy who went into the wild of Alaska, spent a few months just being, then promptly died a painful death right before he meant to leave. The other book was about a housewife with a gun in Alaska making jam and shooting mountain goats on the side. This doesn't lead me to wanting to move to Alaska (Though I would consider it.), but rather leads me to ponder just what do I want?

I know that in the end I want to give more to society than I take. I want to pay my financial debt to society... To the government... To myself.... You know, those pesky student loans, and then give of myself as long as I am able. I have considered things such as Teach for America, Red Cross, over seas mission work, joining the national guard, and nomadically wondering from place to place after natural disasters being of use. I'd like to use my brain and any physical strength I actually have to lift someone else up. I've considered settling down and becoming a parent, but that I've decided probably requires a second half first. I've dreamed of being a foster parent and adopting a child (foreign or American). I've created big dreams for myself, but so much of that depends on just what happens in my life. Right now, I am sitting in my bedroom in the north west part of the Dominican Republic. In theory I will live most of the next two years in this little corner of the world. What happens after isn't necessarily something I have to or should consider, but if you know me, I will forever be thinking of the future while trying to simultaneously live in the present.

Conclusively, I turned 23 last week. The future looks bright. If I play my numbers right I may be able to slash my debts by 30. But what really matters is that I find what matters to me, and go for it.

Give more to the world, than you take from it.

For when you give of yourself, the return is always worth any sacrifice.