I solemnly swear to not swear in this blog. Just in case my mom finds it...
Truth be told, I have never understood blogs - either written or those weirdo Vlogs that are out there. I mean, what do you gain by writing about yourself over and over again? More importantly, what do others gain by reading them? If the answer is "nothing" or "I don't know," then you should just delete your blog and free up some Internet space in my opinion. Really, the only blog I ever understood was the one from "Julie and Julia" and all I got out of that was how awesome butter is in cooking. (Note: I never read the blog, just watched the movie, but the movie was inspired by the blog so I guess it's OK).
I am on a mission to leave this world a better place than I found it. I can't do it alone, and frankly, I don't want to do it alone. But I'm noticing a trend nowadays: activists who are hurting rather than helping their cause. Other people have succeeding in turning me off from their causes: the environment and animal rights just to name a few. Now before I get hate mail, let me clarify: I like trees, and I like furry creatures, but I like them in my own personal way and have no desire to hear about whatever is stuck in your craw this week. You're just going to turn me off from your cause.
I'll give you a big fat "for instance." When I was in college, I got really involved in the 2008 election. I campaigned for a local Democrat for Maine Senate as well as Barack Obama. I started following Hillary during the primaries (please run in 2016!) and I've followed politics ever sense. I read the original Affordable Health Care Bill when it came out. When people asked me if I was watching all of the footage on Charlie Sheen, my response was, "No, I care more about Libya right now." As informed as I am (BA in Political Science), and as opinionated as I am, I avoid the subject of politics like the plague. If you think your date is going really well, bring up the government shut down. You might as well go ahead and ask for the check because it's pretty much over at that point.
There's an incredibly fine line when your passion turns into sheer annoyance. People will justify what they have to say with, "I'm not doing it for me, I'm doing it for _________." I mean, fill in the blank: the animals, the trees, starving Darfur kids, women who want to wear white after Labor Day. BUT, if you're really doing it for them, you'd back off a little. After a while, you sound like a broken record, and your words fall on only deaf ears.
I want people to find what they are passionate about and follow through. I really do. Me? I'm passionate about kids. I like kids when they get to that age when they start to talk back (you know, around 3 or so). They're fun at that age. For instance, I taught my friend's 3-year-old to say "Hump Day!" whenever someone asks what day it is. That's fun. But what I really care about are the kids who are born into crappy situations. The ones whose parents use their kids for leverage in a divorce, or whose parents make sure there's Jack and Coke in the fridge but no lunch money for their kids. Those are the kids I care about. The ones who grow up without mentors. The ones who don't get attention because their parents are absent or selfish and their teachers are too overworked and underpaid to help. These kids who weren't born "bad" kids, they just have never had "good" modeled for them. These are the kids I'm going to prosecute when they turn 18 because we didn't do enough for them when they were 17.
That's what I care about. What do you care about? I honestly would love to hear. If you don't know what you care about, think about it. I think it would be a really terrible thing to go through life with no purpose. Going through the motions is not for me and I bet, if you found something you cared about, you would agree.
