Love for Others, Not Just Yourself

Attention, Attention! We have a problem! There is a deficiency in L-O-V-E. It’s time to talk about the lack of love and concern for those around us. I mean, I just don’t feel it! There is really a selfishness that needs to end ASAP. I’m starting to see a stinginess amongst the youth that is really bothering me. As an individual with family all over the world (I am Nigerian, Ghanaian, and Lebanese) I know that my world does not exist completely within the borders of America. When I was 16, I went to London and realized that American history was not the history of the world. Not only my immediate family, but the news as well, made fun of how ignorant Americans were and still are.

There are so many luxuries that we take for granted and even complain about because our eyes have not seen the struggle of third world countries. There are plenty of things that we can do inside and outside of our community and country to start the improvement of our global community. We should start helping others out of the kindness of our hearts. The You-Owe-Me Syndrome needs to seize to exist! Whether it’s something as small as listening to a friend in need or grand as going abroad and helping in Haiti, we need to stop complaining and start acknowledging the world outside of yourself. Instead of writing a person off because of their flaws, how about search for their attributes and accentuate those?

I want us to begin to change who we are and who we want to see ourselves as. Ladies, leave your mark on this world as someone that positively impacted that impoverished Ugandan girl suffering from AIDS or the Haitian family struck by the earthquake, instead of the girl who only thinks of herself. So here’s what I say we do:

• Get a Journal: Monitor yourself. Write down what you are happy to have. Write down what you wish you had and hadn’t done in the day. It’s so easy to overlook the simple things in life that make us so blessed to be in America.
• Do Community Service: Don’t do this because it’s mandatory. Do it because people that are far less privileged need this. It will make them happy knowing that youth care about them.
• Help Abroad: There are several organizations that allow students to travel abroad to do community service projects. Hopefully, I’ll be going to Belize this winter to help in an orphanage.
• Read the News: This can be boring and depressing sometimes, but you guys need to start hearing the reality of the world and even find out about causes you can help change.
• Join a Club: If there is a cause that you are passionate about, there may be a club in your school that has it. If not, make one! My high school didn’t have a Black Student Association, so my best friends started one and we began helping out our community.
  

When I do these things, I know people are happy, but I also am happier. See if this brings a bit more happiness in your life. Here’s a quote to leave with you guys…

"The impersonal hand of government can never replace the helping hand of a neighbor." ~Hubert H. Humphrey




-- Rebecca Matey
Brownstone Intern