what you can do.

so today at AIESEC LCM, we talked a little about children soldiers in uganda and watched a video on patrik awuah who spoke on TED. if you are wondering what i m talking about, go to www.ted.com and just search for his name. :)

he grew up in ghana and went to college in US. he then joined microsoft and started a family in the US. now, doesnt that sound like most of us or people that we know? we grow up in our home country. opportunities present themselves and we choose to go and pursue our dreams, to open up our world and to enjoy the greener pasture on the other side of the world. for those who do not or have yet to get the opportunities, they stay in their homecountry, often hoping for golden chances to pop up and to give them the path to experience a different life.

this man, after having lived in the US, established himself into the upper middle class, one day realizes that he has responsibilities to his homecountry to his people. because it is important to his children. he went back to ghana and established the ashesi university college www.ashesi.edu.gh

now, the point to discuss here is. will YOU, who is currently away from the place where you grew up in, go back to serve your people? There is one important quote that i took away from his 15 minute speech, and that is that education is not about entitlement, it is about responsibilities. because we are privileged enough to receive education, a luxury that many around the world are denied. at some point of time, you might come to realize, it is no longer about me, it is about what i can do and what i should do for my people who are less privileged.

university education is not about getting the degree. it is about developing oneself. no one society is perfect. it is up to us to find out that area of our society that we want to play a part to improve. many might say, well, the society is shaped by so many factors, what can i, as an individual do?
Nike says 'Just do it', which i have come to think has some truth. why do we tend to worry so much before we even try? if everybody does that little bit, it can make a huge difference. sounds cliche, but it is true. if the communal pantry is dirty and everyone thinks that he can contribute very little, the pantry is going to continue being dirty. if the class is too quiet and not responsive and everyone waits for another person to say sth, the class will just continue being too quiet. it is each individual's continued effort that makes a BIG thing happen.

When you are free (like now, since you are reading my post), think about what do you not like, which aspect of the society that provokes you most. and think of what you can do about it. you never know what you can do.