She’s baaaack. At the relentless insistence of certain people, I am back to blogging. I said in the first post that this was going to be a hard thing for me to stick to and I’m definitely proving myself right, but both I and this blog are works in progress. It just so happens that this post is going to be a great big CHEAT. I’m going to show you my very first personal column written when I was the Lifestyles editor of South’s student newspaper, The Vanguard.
I sincerely hope that I’m not too different from the girl that wrote this passionate, albeit very over-embellished, article. Enjoy…
Praise and Meditation
Last week I applied for an internship with National Geographic, and though I do not actually expect to be accepted as an intern- for there is only one position available and undoubtedly thousands of applicants far more qualified than I- I could not help but try to be the chosen one. I cannot let my fear of failure keep me from trying, for now I will get a definite answer either way.
It has been a dream of mine for years to work for the intensely cultural magazine, in order to surface stories about sacred tribal rituals, ancient ruins of our planet’s oldest civilizations, species of undiscovered animals and just the vast plethora of knowledge and experiences just waiting to be unearthed.
There is something so bewildering yet absolutely enthralling about the extreme expanse of things to know and places to go, and I find myself nearly bubbling over with an indescribable excitement about the possibility of exploring the earth and relaying my experiences through words to the awaiting public. National Geographic represents something so pure and great, and seems to keep the focus where it belongs; on people, their trials and their impact on the singular planet we have been blessed to inhabit though simultaneously destroy.
The thing about all this is that I want people to know how important it is to understand and value the earth and its many inhabitants. Although I cannot be the single informant that rids the world of its ignorance about the unknown, I can write whatever I have the privilege to experience, and to inspire in others the same passion about the earth that empowers me.
It is not for everyone to want to hop scotch from country to country, live amongst ‘uncontacted’ Peruvian tribes one day, and help to save leatherback sea turtles on the beaches of Costa Rica the next, but it only benefits us to pick up a book about a different place, tune into the travel channel or surf http://nationalgeographic.com to learn of the latest updates of worldwide culture.
I recently returned from a semester abroad in London, and I cannot say how many times people simply busted into a chorus of “Sweet Home Alabama” upon learning that I hailed from the Heart of Dixie, or how many times, to my utter horror, people asked if I had ever witnessed a lynching. To know that people in the world still view the South as an ill-educated, violently prejudiced culture is heartbreaking. However, to know that people around me view other cultures in the same light is equally painful.
So I say do something about it. Learning is so powerfully liberating, and not just the kind of learning required to earn a degree, but the kind one chooses to pursue on one’s own. Therefore, we should all strive for betterment. Learn about your own culture, and then branch out to the tens of thousands of others. Do not be afraid of the unfamiliar, for in seeking it you may find yourself.
I recently read in Vanity Fair that for Christmas, Brad Pitt bought Angelina Jolie a bookshelf containing volumes of books on the world’s religions. It is beyond incredible that two people who have and do so much and have been so many places still see the value of furthering their knowledge about different cultures. Of course we can’t all be humanitarian gods, adopting children from the four corners of the globe, but we can all follow their path of betterment through cultural education.
I am currently reading Awakening the Buddha Within by Lama Surya Das, and I hope to venture into Hinduism next. It just never hurts to try and figure out what nobody else in my education has cared to teach me.
Needless to say, I never got the internship, but I do still love sea turtles and National Geographic. I actually never finished reading the book about Buddhism, nor did I move on to any other religion, at least not directly. I need to. I’m glad, though, to have given up on the idea of a journalistic career. I’m WAY too wordy and I love talking about myself too much. God bless a blog! But for real, how great was the line: “National Geographic represents something so pure and great, and seems to keep the focus where it belongs; on people, their trials and their impact on the singular planet we have been blessed to inhabit though simultaneously destroy.”?! Think about it. Cheers!
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