Giving it Away

At times I'm overwhelmed by the need to help others. It's pretty selfish to even say that I get to be overwhelmed.  I read the article in the paper about the kids in Haiti who are sitting mute in camps and no one knows what their names are or whether their parents are alive, and I think I'm pretty lush in my 2 bedroom apartment with food in the fridge and shoes to wear. And a bed. Goodness knows, if you have a bed, you are really well off.
Then, when you start thinking of helping them, you start thinking of the guy who is pushing a Foodland cart filled with stuff from Kahuku to Laie, and the couple who, granted, are deadbeats, but their kids who don't have a place to live after being evicted. There are just so many people out there that need help. It's devastating. I wish I had confidence to give more. To do more. I wish it didn't feel like I had to take care of my own stuff and I could get myself to go take care of other people's stuff.
Me and my bleeding heart have the luxury to even consider ourselves sad for everyone else.

I felt pretty good about my students for raising $200 in change and dollars for Haiti in one week. Mostly my two classes, but a few other classes at school chipped in and now that I've donated the money through Foodland (for American Red Cross) we've doubled it to $400 with a per dollar match. So I think my students are awesome right now. As much as I complain about them behind their backs and to their faces, and even though the money they had was probably from their parents, the fact that they considered the difference between buying a Monster for breakfast and putting that money in a box is pretty significant to me. Because their little bit of considering someone outside their present needs is a big deal for a teenager.

So, yeah. Seeing that, as a teacher, is making my day. Kids are good. Even the rascals.