Grown-Up Decisions

Remember the opening scene of The Jerk?

But I digress...

In the next couple of weeks, I need to choose my second year of rotation. In the next couple of months, I need to choose my independent study topic as well as the focus of my thesis. Since sitting on my throne and showering all the ignorant fools with my vast knowledge of social welfare and enlightening others with my gifts of compassion and empathy are not options in any of those decisions, I've been turning these big-girl choices over and over in my head. I'm not a born leader. I don't perform well in situations where it's all up to me. Those twelve-year old girls that start a national campaign to collect teddy bears for homeless children or that stay-at-home mom that turns her hobby of making Fruit Rollup sculptures into a multi-billion dollar industry...that's not me. I'm the one that fulfills a request to send in snack for my daughter's class by baking apple-pumpkin streusel muffins and sending them to school with her in a basket covered in a decorative dishtowel. I am good at going the extra mile to exceed someones expectations, but it's only with clear direction. When left to my own devices, I'm a notorious middle-achiever.

So when it comes to choosing some area of social welfare or policy to be my academic and professional focus, I am clueless. I've asked the typical questions of myself:

*What am I good at? Sleeping and talking.
*What issues am I passionate about? Whatever makes me really angry, sad, or happy at
that moment...then the moment passes.

So Buddy, have you come across any social issues that you feel are lacking an adequate investment of resources such as sleep, talk, and fleeting passion?

For reals, people, what are some issues that you care about, that, if you had an adorable thirty-something mom with an endless amount of research and advocacy, what changes would you like to see?

Just a side note: I received an invitation to apply for a weekend-long training sponsored by an organization that promotes advocacy for children. I won't name names but let's just say that they have FUNDs in the DEFENSE of CHILDREN('S). Just sayin.... Anywho, I begin my gorgeous essay about how I worked with children with a variety of mental health issues, many of whom also lived with poverty, abuse, and/or neglect. I chose my words carefully so as to convey that I have great potential and experience but am still humble, modest, and have an insatiable appetite for learning. I referenced back to the application guidelines to make sure I covered all bases when, there it was: "APPLICANTS MUST BE BETWEEN THE AGES OF 18-24 AT THE TIME OF TRAVEL".

Apparently, I'm too old to learn about advocacy. I bet they uses things like "computers" and "lasers" and "cellular phones". I'm sure I couldn't keep up.

"Hey c'mon guys", I'd say to them. "Soulja Boy is a mad-happening song!"