These past weeks I have been looking forward to my July trip more than ever. I will be staying two weeks in Tanzania for a community and service trip. The first week will be spent working in orphanages, schools, and in homes of those in need, and the second week will be spent in a wildlife safari. The simple fact of immersing myself into a completely new culture is already breathtaking by the sound of it, and meeting new people to become an impact in their lives makes it even better. As you might see, I am a bit overexcited about this trip, and I've begun mentioning it often in conversations, but other's responses have actuallu surprised me.
"It sounds amazing, and not to mention it's going to look great in your college resumé, nice thinking."
"That'll be great for university, Cami, I hope you have fun!"
"That'll be great for university, Cami, I hope you have fun!"
At first I was shocked, but then again, they were right in a way; it would look good for university admission officers, but was that my drive? Was that my purpose? No, I was doing it for myself, not for others, but why would others think that this trip would be for anyone's benefit other than for my growth as a human being (and the Tanzanees of course)? Why would they think so superficially? But after thinking for a while, I realized that I was also a victim of society's superficiality.
I LOVE to take pictures, and I am embracing this passion more than ever, but for me it has always been a routine: take amazing pictures, admire them, and then I never forget to post them on Facebook or Instagram. I couldn't feel satisfied with taking the pictures for my personal growth, (don't get me wrong, I think it's great to share your pictures for other's to see your progress, but depending on that photo's success, was the wrong part) because I realized that I was seeking for other's approval. I slowly got so sucked into society's superficiality, that I stopped taking pictures for myself, and started doing it for others, hoping they'd admire them as much as I did.
My vulnerable spot could have been social media, others' could be community and service, and one could go on forever with different examples, but it all boils down to the same question:
When did we become so dependent on other's thoughts and opinions?
When did we become so dependent on other's thoughts and opinions?
We are being raised in a world full of vanity, in a society FULL of superficial thoughts. After putting more thought to it, I realized that when you begin doing so much for other's approval, you slowly stop being driven by your own passions, and start guiding all your actions by other's passions, in other words, the STANDARD PASSIONS. So much importance is being put into other's perspectives on us, that we are growing as empty human beings with all the wrong passions. Wouldn't it be better to work for yourself, because you work to satisfy one rather than thousands of others? This really got me thinking, because I couldn't come up with one person who hadn't been a victim of this "disease" in one way or another.
As humans, we love to compare ourselves with others, be it for motivation or simply for competition, but what is the need to do this? Why aren't we satisfied with our own acheivements, and how in the world can we dare to seek admiration, if we can't even take the time to accept ourselves?
Inspiration: Michele and Santi's POLs :) Amazing job by the way!