The internet is awesome. I spend hours a week Googling and Twittering and Facebook stalking. The internet has brought us such gems as the “Hamster Dance” and full episodes of The Office. However, in this age of information, the internet can also make the world seem like a depressing place. It’s hard to miss the headlines on your Yahoo! Mail homepage every day: suicide bombers, poverty, global warming, war, and the like.
I know the answer for most of us is to tune out all the bad news. After being bombarded with information on a daily – if not hourly – basis, we can’t help but become desensitized. Even I admit to clicking on articles about celebrity gossip rather than reading about the latest news on the war in Afghanistan (yes, we are currently at war, remember?).
Many members of our generation (in America, at least) are rather apathetic about current affairs. Sure, we know who the President is, but we certainly don’t care what he thinks about healthcare or what is going on in the “outside” world. Or maybe we do care but we think, “Hey, I’m not Mother Teresa. I just want to be happy. I’ll let people like Al Gore worry about global warming.” There is nothing wrong with feeling that way. In fact, I derive a lot of my personal happiness through friendships and hobbies. However, we are all capable of being Mother Teresa – even if for only an hour out of our week.
You know the motto when it comes to recycling: “Every little bit helps.” It’s cliché, but it’s true: there may be mountains of rotting garbage in our dumps but if we collectively work to recycle and re-use, we can make a substantial change in our environment. Grass roots efforts do work, from recycling to Presidential elections – just look at President Obama! So why don’t more people make activism a part of their life? Whether it’s volunteering at your local pet shelter or blogging about gay rights, there are small and big things each of us can incorporate into our lives that WILL make the world a better place. And believe me, it will be less painful than those forty-minute elliptical machine sessions you’ve been forcing yourself to do three times a week.
What kind of activism do I participate in? If you’ve read my blog, you’ll know that I am a feminist political blogger. I blog about a wide range of topics – from hot button issues like abortion and sexist double standards to lighter fare like relationships and book reviews. As for my personal life, I recycle and work actively to be as eco-friendly as possible. I hope to start a career in a meaningful industry – be it the government or a non-profit organization. I want the work I do in my lifetime to bring about positive change – however great or small.
Recently, I applied to write for a college fashion blog that had an opening for interns. I received an interesting response – while the editor of the blog thought I was a strong writer and displayed a good sense of fashion, she told me that she was rejecting me because she felt writing about fashion would bore me and conflict with my beliefs. She said, and I quote, “[my blog] is simply a fun, positive blog that covers the trends and provides style advice . . . There are plenty of places to find negativity online, but few places to escape it, and I want my site to be one such escape.” I was seriously taken aback. Sure, she could tell from my writing samples that I am not a fan of our consumerist culture; something that I had explained would not be a problem because I could easily advocate thrifting and other eco-friendly fashion tips while discussing the latest clothing trends. However, the real shocker to me wasn’t the fact that she felt I wasn’t right for the job because of my beliefs but because I had beliefs at all! My blog, by focusing on something more “depressing” than fashion, makes me too negative for fashion writing? I was surprised to find myself placed in that sort of category. See – I’m just like most young people in our generation. I go to college, I party hard on the weekends, I obsess over guys and I am a huge fan of clothes shopping. However, I happen to moonlight as a feminist blogger. Does that make me so different from everyone else? I hope not!
After thinking about the response I got from that fashion blogger for the past few months, I realized something – she saw me as one of those “special” Mother Teresa types who found it possible to look at all that is wrong with the world and try to change it, rather than just be a “regular” girl who enjoys having a good time. My friends, I beg to differ. I think there is a little “activist” in all of us. Sure, bloggers like Akhila and I might spend more time than the average person writing and thinking about depressing world issues, but we have other passions and interests as well. In fact, that’s the great thing about blogging – it’s a learning experience and I’m getting my voice out there – but, at the end of the day, if I’m too mentally exhausted to write a post, I just…don’t. I can sit in bed and watch the Hills to my content (and hey, it inspired me to write a post just the other day!).
So, what are your passions? Do you love to write and care about global warming? Why not start a blog. Do you enjoy sports? Why not volunteer as an assistant coach at a public school that might not have a lot of sports-related funding? There are fun and “easy” ways of incorporating activism into your daily life without feeling like you are sacrificing your own well-being and interests. Hey, we can’t all be Mother Teresa, but we can be better citizens, friends and members of the international community.
In what ways are you engaging in activism in your community and/or abroad? Do you have some suggestions for other people looking to make a change in the world?
The Changemaker
Dollface is a college student at a small liberal arts college in New England. She blogs anonymously about feminism and politics so that her future plans of becoming President of the United States aren’t compromised by her stance on abortion (…just kidding!). She enjoys long walks on the beach, poking fun at Twilight fans, and generally being a sarcastic @$$hole. She blogs at Rotten Little Girls (http://therottenlittlegirls.com) and you can follow her on twitter @rottendollface. Be warned, of course, that her twitter updates are horrendously boring and of little interest to anyone.
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