The Hidden Good

I see the good that can be done - that I can play a role in - and I want to make it happen.
I see what one person really can do and I am inspired to dream and reach for more.
I see the gratitude on their faces and the pride, excitement and pure delight in the power that comes with these films (), stories and projects ().
I read about these people, feel only an inkling of their despair, and know in my heart and in my mind that I can make a difference in their lives - make their lives not just "better," but full of possibilities and thus full of hope. I want these children to have an education (). I want them to be able to dream of something outside of their immediate life and to actually feel that there is a possibility of that dream coming true. I want them to have the resources to make these dreams come true.
I read and hear about my peers going out into the world and actively working to change it - to help ALL people; not just the ones who look and talk like us - and I envy them... this is about the only thing I can truly say I am envious of: the opportunity, willingness and support to go out there and make things happen.
Maybe I'll start in education administration or legal and non-profit advocacy and communication, but at some point and preferably at many points, I want to do the field work. For myself and for the people I'd be working with and learning from as well as teaching, I want to experience that which I would be supporting and advocating. On a base level, I need the experience in order to truly understand.

I want to make a real difference... I never was and still am not one for getting my hands dirty in a literal fashion, but I think I"m beginning to realize that the only reason I haven't been a fan is because there hasn't been any reason to stick my hands into it in the first place. Who cares about playing in the beach when it serves no purpose other than to get suntanned or sunburned and to get unnecessarily filthy from dirtified sand and sea water? The view and conducting environmental studies aside, it'd be the glorified equivalent of taking a dip into a heated cesspool of sweat.
And camping... damn insects crawling all over you. That's about my only issue with that.
But if I were teaching kids survival skills or studying the wildlife in the rainforest, that's a different story. There's a purpose there. A real meaning. So whether it's through domestic education programs in high-need, underserved areas in another state or through travelling to a village, town or city in another country in order to teach, work or study, I feel this urge that borders on a need to see what exists outside of the confines of my comfortable lifestyle and neighborhood, heading somwhere where I am truly needed and where I can have the most impact.

As often and as practically as possible, I need to balance my family life with my personal goals and get out there to make it happen.