What does it mean to be a white, female, 21-year-old American? It feels pretty gross at times.
I share an apartment with another white, female, 21-year-old American who studies biology and psychology at CCU. I don’t make enough money through jobs at school to cover my basic monthly bills, excluding entertainment and “other.” There’s about a $600 deficit between income and necessary expenses. I don’t live in “normal” apartments; I live in the low-income complex. I can only go to school because of scholarships and grants. I have debt from credit card (to pay the bills that aren’t covered by working) and school loans. These are what is now recognized by the Twitter hashtag #firstworldproblems.
Yeah, sure. Americans have their issues. I know that we have an extremely high unemployment rate, people are starving, people are homeless, people are dying, and people are not OK. But after trolling the Internet with Wi-Fi on my MacBookPro, I’ve realized that Americans in general can do a lot more worldly good by just doing it.
To refrain from sounding like the ‘90s-era Nike catch-phrase, I’ve discovered (and if you took a few minutes time to look this up, you’ll see it too) that aiding charities and organizations in the digital age is so easy an 8-year-old that got hold of Mommy’s credit card could do it. The Internet has nullified all my excuses for not supporting charitable organizations. Also, it’s humbling.
Taking a gander at some of these websites like Kiva.org, WorldWildlife.org, and BigCatRescue.org makes it impossible for me to keep the blinders on. Oh, I’m a student. Oh, I don’t have the money to do that. No, I can’t buy that T-shirt when I can use the money for something else (like the Buy 2 Get a Third Book Free deal at Barnes and Noble). Riiiight.
While not everyone does have the ability to give aid to these types of organizations, you are 99.9% more likely than them to not have a real excuse. Come on, don’t lie. You can probably buy a T-shirt from the It Gets Better Project, or a bracelet from Hands Up Not Hand Outs or can spare a $25 microloan to someone on Kiva.org (and you get that money back!). Besides, if you’re on a website about empowering women, about listening to them, why not start now? Online shopping is easy, which is essentially what this is. With the Internet, you can find a way to give to an organization of your choice in less than 5 minutes. You’ll feel better about it. Make it a belated New Year’s Resolution. Why not? What’s your excuse?
Good reminders. AND, for those who are financially strapped, there are still many ways to help that only require your time, such as volunteering at
– Habitat for Humanity
– Walking dogs at the local animal shelter
– You name it, whatever your passion, there’s an organization in your community that could use your help.
I love it. Sadly, many people our age couldn’t care less about being active. I love the concept with Kiva.com, a simple 25$ loan, combined with other people’s donations can completely turn somebody’s life around. You don’t even have to give that money up! You just don’t have it for a while. Great post. In case you are interested, this page is less for charity in the traditional sense, but more for helping people follow their creative dreams. It is how my husband and I funded our project in Ireland this June. http://www.kickstarter.com There are some amazing projects and there are “rewards” for pledging to pay a certain amount. 😀 Well done, once again.