When I was in high school and college, I was always the girl who “had a cause.”
In high school, it was To Write Love on Her Arms. In college, it was Invisible Children.
For several reasons, now that I’m graduated and working full-time, I no longer “have a cause.”
I’m no longer planning trips to Ghana and Uganda to get perspective on what life is actually like in the developing world.
I’m no longer doing whatever it takes to reach my fundraising goals (including taking out my beloved lip ring).
I’m no longer doing hours upon hours of research to find out who the key players in Central East Africa are.
I’m no longer crying when I find out Joseph Kony is in the Sudan, which means it will be harder to track him down.
And it feels really weird to me. Thinking back on all of things things, I feel like a much different person.
In some ways, I feel more boring than I was back then. I had the freedom to take a 12-hour bus ride from Michigan to Washington, D.C. for a weekend. I had the confidence to ask people for money so I could help people halfway around the world. I had the bravery to study aboard in a developing country where I didn’t know a single person.
But in other ways, I feel more mature. I am much more conscious of where my money is going, how I am spending my time, and how I represent myself.
Isn’t that what growing up is all about?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying growing up is about becoming a cold-hearted person who doesn’t care about other people and has no morals to speak of.
But it is about getting to the bigger problem. We can’t solve every problem in the world with trendy videos and dance parties. And we can’t solve every problem by shoving money at it until something changes.
Sometimes we need to solve the world’s problems through discussions and research. But that just isn’t nearly as sexy.
I’m on a bit of a journey right now, trying to figure out my new philanthropic vision. It’s going to be difficult, but I think it will be worth it.
I just need to make sure I don’t become a crotchety old woman who believes we need have enough problems in America and therefore shouldn’t help people on the other side of the world.
What causes do you support wholeheartedly? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!
I 100% get this. I use to throw myself into things, and feel like I was making a difference. I recently started sponsoring a child through Save The Children, a little girl in Uganda, I write her letters and I can send her gifts too, and a monthly $30 dollar donations. It’s small, it’s not much, but it makes me feel like i’m doing something good, for me and hopefully for her too!
Ugh, I’m glad I’m not the only one. I love the idea of sponsoring! Do you get to send her gifts or anything?
I think my favorite part of this whole post was, “And we can’t solve every problem by shoving money at it until something changes.” because that is so true my friend! You can’t just shove money at a problem and hope that will fix it. It takes so much more than that. I only support two causes (not because there aren’t hundreds and hundreds of deserving ones to choose from) because they are two that I believe in and that I feel are consistently doing things to help improve the world. Those two are Room to Read and Charity: Water.
This is so sad. I was just texting other 4Eers about how my life kind of feels meaningless without Invisible Children. I’m not screaming about Africa or getting banned from street festivals for collecting change or trying to effectively tie-dye 400 shirts at once. 🙁 I’m still searching for a new cause too. It’s very true. Spending three hours a week at a soup kitchen isn’t nearly as exhilarating as traveling across the country to run through the streets of DC screaming about justice for everyone. Man, growing up is hard.
Randi with an i
I was the same way – I always had a cause and graduated high school with over 1,000 volunteer hours. Now that I’m finishing up grad school, I’m looking forward to volunteering more but I don’t know that I’ll ever be as zealous!