Food for Thought Friday

I really need to work on coming up with original, catchy titles for Blog posts, and papers in general. That skill is definitely not something I was born with, but like a lot of things, it's something I could work on.

Anyways, it is Friday, one of my favorite days of the week. It's the end of a long work/school week. Even though most of my classes in my 21 credit hours are not super strenuous, it can really take a toll on one's energy. People call me crazy for taking on so much, but if I want to graduate this semester, you do what you gotta do. 

This particular afternoon, I find myself sitting under the shade of one of the trees on campus. The weather is perfect, few clouds float in the sky, and the clock tower is as majestic as always. I just got out of my "Women in Cross-Cultural Perspective" class, my last class of the week. Even though I have been trying to get out of this stupid depression cloud, I can't help but feel so blessed. Earlier this week, I was thinking about searching for a job, when an opportunity practically fell into my lap. Then I had the opportunity to teach swing a few nights ago, and it went incredibly well. I just keep receiving all of these blessings, and I don't know what I did to deserve them. I've been wandering through life, feeling like I don't deserve anything. I do what I can, but I'm not doing everything I need to do. It just shows to me that God does care for me, even when I feel like I do not deserve any of it. I am so grateful that He knows me well enough to know when I need something, and He sends help. 

Referring back to my Women's class, we just watched a video about rape/domestic abuse in Sierra Leone, a west African country. Men think it shows a sense of pride to take a girl's virginity away, so many little girls (emphasis on the little; one of the victims was THREE years old), are rape victims. 26% to be precise. The more frustrating thing? The justice system is completely out of whack. So, in the very rare case that someone reports a rapist (there are a lot of them) to the authorities, they do a super lazy investigation and the assaulter gets released. It is all so very mid-boggling, sad, eye-opening, and downright sickening. 

I've been thinking about what I want to do to continue my education all school year, and I've been thinking about being a children's therapist.. There is a counseling office in Sierra Leone, and if I am still unmarried by the time I graduate, I would want to move there and help the poor little girls exposed to such violence at such a young, tender age. I really want to make a difference in the lives of children who have been sexually abused. No one can do that comfortably sitting on their couch at home, or, in my case, sitting under a tree. The first step of making a difference is to become aware, so at least I have that part down. What about you? How can you become aware and make a difference?