My Christmas Wish List

When I was little, my parents would have us write letters to Santa with 10 Christmas wishes. My parents would tell us that they would personally deliver the letters to Santa because they could do that, being parents and all. As an adult (lol), I realize that this was their way of knowing what to get us for Christmas each year.

Anyway, I have decided to write a Christmas wish list this year but instead of giving it to my parents to fulfill, I am sending it out into the Internet universe so that the world's activists, protesters, humanitarians, policymakers, friends, and maybe even God can work to fulfill the list that I am sending, theoretically, to Santa this year.

Dear Santa,

I hope you are doing well and the reindeer, elves, and Mrs. Claus are all having a splendid winter. I have been very good this year so I have made you a list of things to get me for Christmas.

My Christmas List

1. For every child to have a chance to learn to read so that they can travel around the world in a matter of pages. No matter what a child must live through, war zones, famines, poverty, an escape and journey can be found in a book.
2.  For Our Girl to be brought back. It’s been 254 days since 273 school girls were kidnapped from the Chibok Government Secondary School by Boko Haram Terrorists in Nigeria.
3. For the world to realize that all lives matter. All black lives. All white lives. All lives. I don’t want my use of the phrase “All lives matter” to be taken in the way that it has been used on Twitter or Instagram. While I believe that all lives matter and have equal value, I acknowledge that the world doesn’t need a reminder that white lives matter. For some God-unknown reason, people have forgotten that black lives matter. This year, I hope and pray that one good thing will come from the incidents in Ferguson and New York (and all over the world). I pray that we will honor the lives lost by progressing as a group to transform into a society that understands and values the worth of all lives.
4.  For the waters in our rivers, bays, and oceans to be given the attention and care that they deserve and need. I pray that my children will be able to safely and confidently have children knowing that they will still have a home on this fragile planet that we have taken for granted for so long.
5. For peace and resolution in on the West Bank and along the Gaza Strip. While the solution to the conflicts in Palestine and Israel is complex and unknown to me, I pray that it is soon realized and the citizens on both sides can enjoy a peaceful and safe Christmas, whether or not it is the celebration of their choice.
6. For a halting cure and widespread eradication of the Ebola virus in West Africa.
7. For a resolution in the nearly three-year conflict in Syria that has caused increased occurrences of terrorist attacks in Lebanon and turmoil in the surrounding areas and for a solution to the crisis in Ukraine.
8. For peace and serenity for the families who have lost children due to acts of violence, whether in Newton Ct. or Pakistan.
9. For the minorities in the United States to be granted rights that are overdue. I pray for steps of progress for marriage equality and rights for the LGBTQA community. I pray for income equality. I pray for far representation of women in legislative bodies.
10. For the strength of our government to work together, as have other Western democracies, to roll back the “surveillance state.” I pray that in the post-Snowden (it took forever for spellcheck to accept that I wasn't trying to write post-Snowman) world, an intensely secretive and intrusive national security is not the new norm.

d    Thank you for whatever progress or faith or hope you bring us this year. I hope 2015 is brighter and better than 2014. Merry Christmas!

Sincerely,

Tori 

Passion

A while ago someone told what he thought was the key to a happy, successful, and prosperous life. Since this revelation, I have seen the general idea of his "life hack" on Pinterest, Instagram, ect. The basic idea is this: Find 3 passions that you love, one to make you money, one to keep you fit, and one that allows you to be creative.

I'm sure it is naive of me to think I should or could have these three hobbies discovered at the young age of 19 but part of me thinks this is the most important time to know. I'm at a crossroad. Actually, I'm at a 100 way intersection that is more similar to a complex round-about with an infinite number of exits than a simple fork in the road. I have a world of opportunities but they are all behind different doors and at some point, I have to commit to opening and walking through a doorway.

My father has had several different careers in his life. They say that, on average, a person will have 4 different careers in his or her life. I've often wondered if this has been because throughout your life your interests change and paths turn or if a person has to find the perfect career through a process of guess and check.

I never go somewhere new without looking up a map and studying a route. If I have a known destination, I carefully plan out the roads and turns and paths I will take to get there. However, I'm here, 19 years old, and I don't know what my destination will be. All I know is that according to Pinterest, Instagram, and probably a couple fortune cookies out there, I need to find a way to make money, be fit, and be creative by watching Law and Order.

The Beginning

It has been a long time coming for this post. My first blog post under my own name on my own personal blog. No pen-name. No alias. No organization or course to hide behind. My excuses of not having time, not knowing what to name it, not having a venue in which I am savvy enough to blog are now all irrelevant. I'm going to write. 

I’m unsure of the real track of this entire blog and I am still a bit convinced that it will be as scattered and directionless as my own train of thoughts. One post might focus on my political thoughts for that moment while the following post addresses my skill and passion for baking pies. After all, these are the stepping stones within my mind. 

Maybe, on that accord, I should have named the blog A Taste of Tori, but I think the Virginia Wolfe quote resonates with me much more. I’m barely 20 years old and I have a world of wonder ahead of me. My only hope for this blog is that it follows me through my days at Washington College as I stumble through my studies of political science and economics and it continues to inspire me to write as I travel and learn from the world.

I’m too young to know how to plan more than 3 months ahead of time, so with that in mind, here’s to the beginning of a blog that should have fewer expectations than it currently has posts.

For the freedom of my mind.