Support for Japan

I know this post is a bit delayed, but I had to think really hard about how I was going to phrase this post. At the Forum I made connections with people all over the world and watching the earthquake, tsunami, and now the possible nuclear meltdown in Japan on my television has been terrifying. When I first heard about it the first thing I thought of was my friends in Japan and I was hoping and praying that they were safe with their families and friends. I couldn't remember where in Japan they lived so I was constantly checking Facebook seeing if they had posted anything about their experiences. Thankfully they are all okay, but the whole experience was hard, I can't even imagine what it would be like to live there. I have since realized that I have a personal connection with pretty much anything that will happen in the world and I am still not sure if that is a good or bad thing. On the one hand I think my "North American apathy" will be diminished and I will think about the personal stories occurring in things like natural disasters and human conflict, but on the other hand I am worried that every little thing will cause a great amount of distress in my life, which I do not need. Maybe I am being completely irrational and selfish by thinking these things, but it does cause a lot of worry for me.I hope that this disaster will be different than all the others, people will try and act above themselves and work towards a better world, not just forget in a week or two, once the news coverage slows down and something else happens.  I am still praying for all of the people in Japan who are affected by the disasters there and I hope that there isn't a nuclear meltdown. Overall I am so thankful that I live where I do because we can never have a tsunami and an earthquake is pretty unlikely, but I hope that the Earth will calm down soon, I don't want it to get any worse.

Thanks for listening to my babble,
Shannon

Happy International Women's Day!

Hello Everyone,
I just wanted to do a quick little post on the 100 anniversary of International Women's Day. I am so proud of how far women have come in the past hundred years. It is crazy to think that 100 years ago women could not vote, own property, or were even considered people! I wonder what the women of that time like the Famous Five would think of what women are doing today. I hope they are proud and I hope that in another hundred years there will be gender equality and women will be empowered to fight for what they believe in and stand up for themselves and their right to choose their own futures!
Take care,
Shannon

"I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do."
-Helen Keller

I am still alive!

Hello Everyone,
I realize that it has been more than a few weeks, but I cannot believe that I have missed so many blog posts... I will try to make it up this time- I promise. Not a whole lot has happened on the front because I have been super busy with school. I sort of justify my decisions to focus on school instead of my projects because A) I am not paying tuition to work on the MDGs, B) I will have all summer to focus on my projects for next year, and C) by getting my education to become a teacher I am getting the skills and knowledge I will need to help others, particularly children, to work on their own goals to change things. In my social studies curriculum class we talk a lot about what it means to be a global citizen and I think the title is something that cannot be easily explained. When I think about the characteristics of a global citizen I often think about people who are worldly, compassionate, driven, and selfless. Someone who can look beyond themselves to see the rest of the world's needs, before their own. This kind of person seems like a superhero or a saint, but I think that the identity of a "global citizen" can be attained by anyone who has the desire to make a difference in the world and the drive to take action. That is my goal, to become a global citizen. I don't know about how I will judge when I have reached this goal, but it is a goal none the less. Wish me luck!
Until next time,
Shannon