a charmed and enchanted life

i often get overwhelmed with how wonderful my life is.  i have the opportunity to attend a prestigious college, live wherever i want to, drive a car, play the piano, learn the art of dance, listen to endless music, be warm in the winter, be cold in the summer, etc.  i did not ever ask for the opportunities that i have been granted, but am eternally grateful for everything that has happened in my life.  i can not help but be overcome with gratitude for my health, as it could be plenty worse without the help of medications, insurance, and doctors.  i sometimes feel guilty because i have a choice of over 30 shirts to wear, several pairs of jeans, shoes, purses, etc.  if i needed to, i could fly home to see my family.  i have a mother and father that love me very much and have always treated me with nothing but love.  my friends are so good to me as are my roommates. 

i know that all of these experiences are given to me, not only to make my life richer and to form me into the person that i need to be someday, but so that i can give back-- pay it forward in a sense.  i know that not everybody has the chance to go abroad and help people in developing countries, but i know that that is what i need to be doing.  it makes me so sad when i see pictures of orphans, abused children and women, people dying of HIV/AIDS, etc.  i know that i wont "cure" anything, or fix the problem, as they are only getting exponentially worse everyday.  all i hope to accomplish is to raise awareness, and to give love to those that need it the most.  

i also see such a great need local communities, and even in those that we interact with everyday.  those that are mothers are making a huge difference, and i admire them with all of my heart. what a great task that is to have responsibility over and care for God's children.  i realized the other day that mothers not only influence their children, but the sphere of people their children interact with.  i applaud mothers and fathers.  i applaud teachers.  i applaud anyone who remembers that their money is not theirs and that they should give back.  

i apologize for the recurrence of topic.  i feel like a lot of posts on my blog are about this (love, people in other countries, etc.) but it is something that i think about everyday.  even though my feelings never change towards this topic, and in an essence i am just re-stating what i have said countless times, i feel it is necessary to bring it up.  i hope you don't mind.