Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Thank You, Thank You, and Merry Christmas!

2010 has not at all been the year I expected it to be as I considered my future a year ago. My career has been a little lacking. On the up side I have learned and am still learning many important lessons. Here are a few lessons I am thankful for that I learned in 2010:

  • My family and friends have so graciously housed me without rent for a sum total of seven to nine months depending on how you count summer camp. I have come to understand that the generosity of others always seems to far exceed my expectations. I hope to extend that courtesy to others in the future.
  • There are people who are far far worse off than I. My goals are astronomical, they actually are. When I feel myself failing at those goals because I don't have a job I feel helpless. I worry that I might never "make it" the way I dreamed. That is ridiculous because I have experienced more and done more in ways that many people never will. I have a masters degree in engineering. Done. Millions, if not billions, of people will never get the chance to even attempt that.
  • The United States is rich. We have so much money and power, most of it concentrated with a select group. 
  • Many people in the United States are ignorant of all sorts of information. Information about starvation, poverty, wealth, oil, and the politics in Pakistan are some of the things that Americans are blissfully unaware of. In one way this troubles me because we have the ability to make a difference but so often we do not because we do not know there is a problem. Another way this troubles me is that if Americans with our volumes of information and nearly unlimited access to information do not know, they what about billions of people around the world? Another way this ignorance troubles me is that often problems could be dealt with before they are problems. An ounce of prevention or a pound of cure?
  • Somehow or other I have acquired an amazing group of friends over the years. I'm not sure how that happened but I know some pretty awesome people.

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