There are a few things that are currently burning through my brain, and I am frustrated.
It's the time of year where we find ourselves wondering...
"Can I actually get this degree? ... This is too much work! I can't finish this!"
Then you watch a youtube video or 2, and you see the little faces in West Africa or India and you think...
"I have to do this, these children get up every single day and they do it, sift through garbage or stumble to a hot school house..
These teenage boys do heroin every day and know nothing but AIDS and Malaria.."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMwI5unlK9M
-Another ode to vice, my dream job.
And I cant get my ass off the couch to write a paper?
If that doesn't inspire you, you don't deserve to get your degree.
The most frustrating component of my aspirations and desires once I am reinspired...
I can never do what I really want, because I am a girl.
Oh but women's rights and you can go anywhere and do anything!
- I have a women's studies option, and I study international development.
I know what I can or cannot do, and my gender-prescribed limitations, and I cannot take a video camera to Liberia and try and make a documentary.
BUT WHHHHHHHYYYYY...
1) I will not be taken seriously
2)I would not be treated with even the least amount of respect as an indivudual or journalist
3) It would be the most unsafe move I could ever make, as a caucasian girl who is barely 5'4.
ETC, my mother will always be there to remind me why things are unsafe...
I am so frustrated by this world, and not only by my lack of opportunities, but all marginalized groups' lack of opportunities.
Whether you are a West African merchant trying to compete in the big bad economic world of coffee trade...
Or a woman trying to avoid HIV/AIDS ...
Or me, wishing you could go anywhere in the world, be safe, and not fear sexual predation or gendered ignorance.
*International Development, the ultimate inspirerer, and the ultimate dream crusher.
I agree, the field can be pretty frustrating sometimes. Yet despite learning about all the HUGE problems in the world, I have to constantly remind myself that even a small thing I do can make a difference for someone. And that's important, too. And don't forget, there's lots of good people out there (like us INDEVOURS!!!) who are trying to improve things!
ReplyDeleteSo true. Both about becoming complacent and about the frustrations and aspect of being female. I find that the things we study most often leave me with a 'glass nearly empty' point of view, but it is also pretty easy to regenerate enthusiasm by reading stories of social entrepreneurs and development workers - while they do experience negatives, as a whole, I find that in the field, they feel excited and fulfilled.
ReplyDeleteIt's very true. There's so many ups and downs in INDEV. It's incredibly inspiring, almost romantic, to think that we are studying to make a difference in the world. That's what gets me out of bed in the morning... the thought that when I graduate, I'll (hopefully) have some skills that will help me tackle poverty in a sustainable way. But our field can be incredibly depressing. I often come out of class with the feeling that the problems I want to solve are just too big and complicated. I often get a feeling of hopelessness and that I won't be able to do anything about hunger, or water, or climate change. But you know what? We care. And that's what really matters.
ReplyDelete"*International Development, the ultimate inspirerer, and the ultimate dream crusher."
ReplyDeleteYou could not have said it better. Our program can definitely be discouraging at times. It can inform you of all the different problems around the world and how every attempt to fix them had failed. In that aspect it is absolutely the ultimate dream crusher.
However, learning about these problems and the failed attempts of solutions is also necessary. In the future, each one of us will have to come across these problems and will attempt to solve them. Having some background information about the situation can be very helpful. I look at the program as an inspirer because of the students that are part of the program. Our degree will provide us with information, theories, and tools on how to deal with different issues. The idea of our cohort graduating and using these tools in the future is what brings me inspiration. Maybe in the future some of us will be able to create sustainable solutions for these problems. Then these solutions can be taught in the future as a successful example.
You're right ... Its like a circle.. CRUSH A DREAM, INSPIRE A CHANGE, CRUSH A DREAM, INSPIRE A CHANGE... It is genuinely comforting to know that so many of us are dedicate to the 'inspire a change' factor!
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