can we just stop already

While some people try to start another Civil War over social media-- I am tucking children into bed knowing that in a week from today they go back to their lives. They go back to their lives of only one meal day, that meal only being a bowl of porridge. They go back to sharing beds with their siblings, some children 4 to a full size mattress- their heads go on the mattress and their legs go on the ground. They go back to their mothers and fathers that love them in ways I can't, ways I only wish I could.

As I tuck them into bed I listen to their stories, I listen to them talk about the long walks to school, the nights they stay up late doing chores and the mornings they wake up at 4am to fetch water and get their siblings dressed from school. I listen to them talk about the little scars they have on their bodies. Then they ask me about my past, my family, my life. I tell them my stories and right after i feel guilty. I feel guilty because I didn't choose to be born in America. Just as much as they didn't choose to be born in a developing country, but they were and they love it. Its what they know.

Tonight my heart is heavy, knowing that in 7 days they fly home. They go back to their normal lives and I go back to mine, which will never be the same. My heart is heavy at the fact that America is so 'blessed' that we choose to argue about things that only cause more war than peace. Without realizing it, soon we will be in another civil war. We fight about gun rights, we fight about same sex marriage, we fight about the people with different skin tones. We fight over everything. Before I go any further, I will say that I am a very opinionated person- I had to learn to control it during my hippie days in high school. I use to say things and not care how it came across or what people thought about my opinion. However, now I am speaking out of a place of love.

Here is my opinion: I think we waste our time debating on social media. I find it ignorant that people think they are changing the world by posting a meme. I am tired of people saying things on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram that they would never say to someones face. I am tired of people always trying to bring up a new issue. What exactly are you trying to prove? Are we trying to get another war started? When do we start fighting for the rights of homeless? Of orphans or widows? Or is that way out of the question at this point? When will we look past our phone screens and see the world as a whole, not separated into countries and colors.

As I tucked my girls into bed tonight I found myself feeling complete joy. These children have so much joy, so much love and so much faith. They are ready to go back home to eating one meal a day, walking miles to school and having to fetch water instead of walking to the water fountain. When will we actually fight for their rights? When we will care that they go hungry? When will we care that they don't get free education? When will we care that at the age of 14 some girls are child brides? When will quit fighting from behind a computer screen about pointless things and actually fight for something worth fighting for.



This video speaks for itself. This organization changed my life 7 years ago.
https://vimeo.com/114638373