Films have a tendency of making their way into my heart and leaving a lasting impact:
Born into Brothels (to see the impact art has on children)
Harold and Maude (to live like Maude, not Harold--don't fret)
The Diving Bell and The Butterfly (anything is possible when the mind is focused)
Now, documentaries really get me going. Darfur Now is a documentary that didn't really leave me with much hope, however. I guess its importance to me was really more of a work of perfect timing. Its appearance in my life came after working for a few weeks at a nonprofit, and after watching another documentary, The Third Wave, about volunteers who came to Sri Lanka after the tsunami. While The Third Wave made me really consider the idea of volunteering overseas for the first time, Darfur Now made me see the possibilities of actually working on behalf of the marginalized and voiceless.
My previous worry was that I wasn't good enough at writing or graphic design or business to actually enter a service opportunity where I was working on those things. I didn't go to college to study political science or international law, and I definitely don't have a great understanding of the way the world works. But you know what? There are hungry people in the world. I could help feed them. There are people suffering with heartbreak after natural disasters. I could help comfort them. I can do simple things. I don't have to be a policymaker or grantwriter. I can literally hand food out to people that need it. It's so simple! And not as frightening as I initially thought.
I guess it's not a life crisis, but just a authentic realization that as much as I love my job, I do eventually want to take at least a year and spend it doing service abroad. Never before have I been bitten by the travel bug, which is probably why I turned down the opportunity to work with Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC) earlier this year. But I want to see the world now, and more importantly, I want to work with and for people who need help. Yay! Clarity.
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