A 16 Year Olds Life Perspective

reply to post by onehuman

Being one that has run away from home since I was 16 because I heard the call of the wild in the wind, I fully support you. At least you have a plan. I just knew I had to go. I had a full family support system as well. Went to good schools etc. so no problems there. I definitely say follow your heart, for that is what belongs to you and you have to live with it. Not to mention the fact that if you take the other path, this opportunity may never pass before you again. Personally I think you will gain many riches in more ways then one and I have to applaud you on that. This path you wish to take may not be a easy one but it will fulfill your dreams, and that may very well be your calling and where some of your first grains of wisdom will be planted.

Thats pretty cool! Its good to know that youve followed something that i wish to follow and you havent ended up worse off, so ill take to that
What did you follow? It sounds pretty interesting
You are right, i may never get this oppourtunity again. And if i do itll probably be when im like 40 or something
I hope so! I hope that it will be fruitful in some way.
I do feel a pull in this direction, so your most probably right

]reply to post by tokyodynamite

There are not many 16 year olds with a persepective on life like that. I guess that makes 2 of us. In my mind I put it like this. People are getting so caught up in their everyday lives and activities that they are forgetting the very things that make us human in the first place. All they can think about is what they are going to do after school and what other people think of them.
Your dream is to help end poverty in this world correct? But you have to get to the root of the cause. That root is governmental corruption. That's my dream. To end governmental corruption all over the world. Sounds a little far-fetched? I am well aware that I have to give up a part of myself to achieve this goal. I have to give up sympathy and any morals I have. This is the only way my mission will be accomplished.

Couldnt agree with you more! Good to know theres someone else at my age who thinks like that
I dont blame them though, there are soo many external influences that are detrimental to the growing mind its no wonder they follow this direction.
Oh no i have the same views! Going and helping the individuals is only alleviating the symptom not the illness.
This is where i kind of get lost however, as i have noo idea how to do it
Well good on you! But no never give up your sympathy and morals, they are what make you you.
Because if you didnt have the sympathy and morals you have, you wouldnt be thinking like this now

reply to post by ewokdisco


What im planning on doing, what are you getting out of this apart from being smartass?

Unfortunately I think most adults just consider it a "phase" and dismiss it. Maybe it's justifiable, but then again it is odd that such altruism really isn't cultivated in our society. But I suppose it goes against the whole materialism/corporatism/consumerism that is fed to everyone.

reply to post by littlecloud



Do what ever you want! Don't worry about what other people think! Don't be controlled! Question Authority! Live your Dream!

and if your dream becomes a nightmare....Don't whine, gut it up and move on!

Bless your heart!

reply to post by ghaleon12


Yeah thats true and it possibly could be, buuut im leaning more to it not being a phase (hopefully)
Completely agree, but then again where does altruism even come from? We are the only animal that practices altruism. Makes me think there really is higher things at work. Yep yep, this is evident by the amount of selfish gluttons ive come across. lol

reply to post by whaaa


Haha thankyou! Thats what im planning to do
If it becomes a nightmare, i need to learn something else. As the best learning comes from painful experiences (in my opinion)

Just be carefull, your father can be right and doesn't want you out of the house yet, those are steps for older people, enjoy your life for a while where you are living, your father is caring. Do what you want to do, there can be wrong intentions in doing that 'good' deed.

Succes!

reply to post by tokyodynamite


Whooooaaaaa back just a little. I admire your dreams and your objective is spot on -- ending the corruption of government -- BUT -- you will not have to; in fact you must not forget about your "morals". Sorry without that the whole premise of your decision dissolves. You will do nothing but get lost and caught up with the system if do not hold on tightly to your morals against all odds.

To the OP. I have extreme empathy with your dreams; and I am long past the naive stage of youth. I am old, but still a dreamer. I have a very serious question for you though.

You describe even the poorest people as being richer in family life and society than we in the developed world. I agree with you wholeheartedly. So then, I question, is your purpose of wanting to go over there and "help" them? Would you be going there to learn from them or teach them something???? I think you should think about that before going, or else, just go and see the world and learn from it, without having any presumptions of being able to teach them anything. Be humble in your travels and in your dealings with the people you meet.

In the end, both you and they may benefit from the experience. Just my thoughts.
Be well. Stay true to your inner self because in the end you will have to take your own journey, but remember that your father and mother and their ideals are also part of what the world has presented you, and there is a reason for it.

reply to post by littlecloud


I think you have a nobel heart and head. Try to put yourself in your father's position. I'm NOT saying he is right, I'm just saying try to think the way he would. Your 16 and want to travel the world to help people. Have you done anything at home in your community to show your desire for helping others? I ask this because his reaction might be you just want to travel. Have you shown responsiblity? Once again I ask because your going to be not only responsible for yourself, but your teammates and the people your helping.

I'm not saying it's not impossible for someone your age to do what your thinking about, I'm saying that it would be a unique individual to truly succeed at what you would like to do at 16. Therefore your in a position you must prove yourself ready.

Drinking beers at your age, and your friend passed out gives me the impression you are not ready. But I'm making that judgement on a small note written by you, your father should know you a whole lot better.

reply to post by wayno

You describe even the poorest people as being richer in family life and society than we in the developed world. I agree with you wholeheartedly. So then, I question, is your purpose of wanting to go over there and "help" them? Would you be going there to learn from them or teach them something???? I think you should think about that before going, or else, just go and see the world and learn from it, without having any presumptions of being able to teach them anything. Be humble in your travels and in your dealings with the people you meet.

Ofcourse there is sooo much for me to learn, part of why i want to have a little adventure hahaha
Because although they have such good family lives and that part of there life is strong, there is still so much pain inside these people. I cant even contemplate what it would be like living over there and being diagnosed with AIDS, i watched a doco the other day on kids in thailand with AIDS and alot of them were so devoid of love and people wouldnt even associate with them. I just want to motivate them really and its hard to be motivated when you go through things like that, so want to open the door and ill give them the key
I will probably end up learning more than what they will for me, its a completely different world over there.

Thanks for your imput
and it dosent matter how old you are! Age is nothing, if you want to do something do it now

reply to post by amc621


You are right, this is where my little #head comes in
Oh i didnt mean passed out from drunkness! Just being asleep hahahaha
Ive done some of the things hosted at school like relay for life and 40hr famine and stuff and i talked to a couple of people at the youth center in the city to help around a bit but i didnt follow it up. But i shall do in the future
I can be pretty responsible and im very street smart but as a 16 i still do make stupid decisions, so im going to have to turn it up a notch.
Oh yeah if i was to leave now i would most likely be sold into sex trafficing. lol
Im doing it when i finish year 12 which is next year, pretty scary but what can you do. So im going to travel in 2012.
Yeah i am a bit silly drinking beer but im not drunk and i can have an intellectual conversation so it could be worse Me and my dad are pretty close and he knows everything i get upto which is actually pretty good, i see soo many girls getting smashed just because there not allowed to.

Thanks for the humbling advice

What is it that you really want? Do you really want to help others or do you just want to get out and see the world a bit? Because if helping is what you want, why not go to school for medicine or law and use that knowledge to pursue your dream, once you are equipped to fight properly for it.

Right now, what are you qualified to do there that they can't do for themselves? Serve soup? Hoe in the garden and work the fields? What difference can you possibly make as you are now? What knowledge / wisdom do you have to share?

The point I'm making is you can't go into battle without armor and weapons. Knowledge is your sword and your armor is made of the same paper your degree/ certifications/ licenses are printed on. A degree is also your membership card into the club for those who are grant the power to change things on a large scale.

Arm yourself before you go rushing off into the fray. You won't last long.

Don't forget your helmet

There is always a chance you will be raped by AIDs infected people, this is something which at this time in life would take a great deal of consideration and not just a fanciful whim from a rebellious teen.

People disappear over there every day and it is dangerous as hell to play games on that level in the world today.

I think that drinking beer at your age is ridiculous and that it will not serve you in the least bit. If I were your Mom I would kick your butt and ground you!

Also when you start out burning brain cells as you are you WILL NEVER know or REACH YOUR POTENTIAL!

Get your education and be very very grateful that you have parents willing and able to get you that education as it is becoming a rare phenomena with todays economic struggles.

Listen to be a hired hand by any of the organizations who are famous for maltreatment and lack of personal security for their aids, you will accomplish nothing but hopefully a safe return if that is your fate.

Get your education, hell kick ass and graduate early and get your degree, THEN and only then will you be able to actually do something to make changes for first yourself and then others.

Your choices will then be based on solid ground, on an educated and scholarly basis where people will listen to you and take what you say seriously. Right now you could be the next Einstein or one of the greatest women of all times!

But even if you top the list unless you have a degree behind you you will not count! That is a guarantee!

Read here about some of the greatest women of all time, study what they did to make an imprint on the world and more importantly the people in their world.
Jane Addams
Susan B. Anthony
Marie Antoinette
Saint Joan of Arc
Aspasia of Miletus
Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
Jane Austen
Ella Baker
Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike
Clara Barton
Florence Bascom
Simone de Beauvoir
Aphra Behn
Ruth Fulton Benedict
Shirley Temple Black
Elizabeth Blackwell
Bonnie Kathleen Blair
Rosa Bonheur
Louise Arner Boyd
Pearl S. Buck
Marie Anne de Cupis de Camargo
Rachel Carson
Catherine the Great
St. Catherine
Chien-shiung Wu
Cleopatra
Juana Ines de la Cruz
Marie Curie
Agnes George de Mille
Emily Dickinson
Amelia Earhart
Marian Wright Edelman
Eleanor of Aquitane
Beatrix Jones Farrand
Edith Flanigen
Anne Frank
Rosalind Elsie Franklin
Betty Naomi Friedan
Elizabeth Gurney Fry
Margaret Fuller
Indira Gandhi
Sarah and Angelina Grimke
Caroline Lucretia Herschel
Judith E. Heumann
Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin
Ariel Hollinshead
Mary Phelps Jacob
Helen Keller
Billie Jean King
Aleksandra Mikhaylovna Kollontai
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
Susette La Flesche Tibbles
Maya Lin
Juliette Gordon Low
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Wilma Mankiller
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Catherine de Medici
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Maria Montessori
Mother Theresa
Baroness Murasaki Shikibu
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Rosa Parks
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Pocahontas
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Queen Elizabeth I
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Sojourner Truth
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www.angelfire.com...

Bless you for wanting to make a difference and for nourishing an empathetic heart, but take it one letter at at time and don't jump into the tragedy which has taken so many beautiful young people because of their niavity and rushing in where only fools tread. Start your journey at A and move along until to get to x y z, you will have so much more grounded and factual energy this way to work with and you will have protection and backing.

reply to post by Cole DeSteele


Its a mix of both, id love to travel and i love helping people so thats where the idea came from.
It sounds really self righteous and everything, but i just like the buzz you get when you help someone without personal gain. You feel like your floating

I was thinking about medicine at one point, but i ended up with psychology and sociology lol, id rather help a person through speech and touch because its just something i enjoy doing.
Yeah you are right lol, i would get absolutely massacred if i were to go there now. I want to do some volunteer work so i can actually see what i need to do so i become more competent. But yes at the moment the best thing i could offer them now is my pumpkin soup.

Thats very true, i need to make sure i focus now because im going to lose myself in fantasies. haha time to kick in at school

ill be sure to bring the helmet.

Here is one example of what I am talking about and this is probably paying less than a Mac Donalds employee' salary. ::::::::::::>>>

Jobs
Child Protection Programme Start-up Consultant, Central African Republic


Posted: 25 November 2010 Deadline: 17 December 2010
Job type: Contract Salary: TBD
Location: Central African Republic
Organisation: War Child - UK
3.1. Experience

www.trust.org...


Essential:

o A minimum of 5 years experience: (* This puts you at about 11*)

- In the delivery and supervision of child protection projects in conflict and post conflict environments

(*Extreme situations beyond your wildest belief*)

- Which combine direct service delivery, capacity building, and advocacy

- Through direct implementation and in partnership with state and non-state actors (* People who would be worse than your parents and they will NOT love you, as they see YOU as the main reason they have to suffer*)

- Team leadership and management (* Are you being a team player with your parents?*)

- Managing budgets (* Sitting on your but drinking beer and "bored", means your not being creative, or helping out people in your own community at a time when there is an abundance of help needed*)
(* Anyway you get the picture.*)

o Demonstrable successful track record in securing funding from institutional donors and grant reporting

o Security management



Desireable:

o Experience and knowledge of working on projects assisting survivors of sexual violence

o Experience of working in CAR or related country



3.2. Expertise



o Master's Degree in Social Work, Psychology, or other relevant Social Sciences.

o Project management

o People management

o Best practice knowledge of child protection, gender sensitivity, the protective environment framework and child rights programming

o Excellent interpersonal communication

o Sound knowledge of participatory approaches

o Fluency (written and verbal) in English and French

o Developing new projects

o Setting up monitoring and evaluation systems

o Grant management and reporting - experience of working on EC funded projects would be an advantage

o Rigorous budget and expenditure management

o Monitoring and evaluation including the use of logical frameworks



3.3. Qualities

o Team player

o Friendly and good sense of humour

o Accurate, systematic, with an eye for detail

o Problem solver

o Calm under pressure

o Effective negotiator

o Able to work in a small, dynamic organisation with limited resources

o Commitment to War Child UK's aims, values and mission



3.4. Other



- Clean driver's license

- No criminal record / CRB checked



Application Process:

- Please submit a CV (3 pages maximum) and covering letter (2 pages maximum) to Erika Hamer at [email protected]. Visit www.warchild.org.uk for a full application pack.

- Please ensure the covering letter explains your motivation for applying and how you meet the person specific requirements

- The successful applicant will be expected to undergo a medical check for overseas travel purposes, CRB check and sign up to War Child's Child Protection Policy prior to a final offer being made.

- Application deadline: December 17th 2010. Applications will be reviewed as they are submitted.

reply to post by antar


Hey, boredom brings out the worst in us
My mum can and will ground me so im quite thankful she is asleep. hahaha

Yeah i know, but i believe if i take precautions and i educate myself in being safe i just may be ok
I know what you mean, i really really need to kick in at school. And concidering im going into year 12 its my last chance, really gotta knuckle down next year. lol
If i am to volunteer i am definately going to do my reasearch on these charities as im quite aware of the stuff that goes on behind the scenes, its pretty sad that people have to resort to that.
I read somewhere that a charity (forgot which one) gave africa funding to deal with aids but they couldnt spend the money on anything else therefore they couldnt get funding for things like TB and clean water so it was actually detrimental to the country. Wether it was intentional or not i dont know.

It irritates me that people listen to you more depending on a peice of paper. Yes it does mean something, but im sure some of the smartest most deep people in the world havent got a degree.
But i will take that in and get a degree
I will! Itll give me some sort of inspiration, funny that cleopatras on there though. Wasnt she a bit of a huss?

U do what feels right for you. Respect your parents, take what they say into serious consideration but in the end follow whats in ur heart. If you do anything other than what ur heart tells you you'll regret it later in life.
It's not necessary to jump right into college, for Gods sake, you just spent 13 yrs of ur life sitting in a classroom learning a whole buncha nothin'. Consider it a gift to urself for all the years of hard work you've put in. You deserve it and so do the others that you'll help. Ive saved a good deal for my children to do just this thing. I urge them to take a yr off after graduation to learn about life, real life. They're free to go wherever their heart desires and I'm glad that they are looking toward something along these lines.
A good job and money can never take the place of that satisfaction in knowing you've made someone elses life just a little easier, given hope to a child or love to someone who has noone in the end. Isnt that what it's all about? Loving and caring for those who need it? I feel we're obligated to one another and that if we're ever to be judged it will be in direct relation as to how we treat our fellow man.
Anyone who says that there is no good or bad, that there 'just is' most likely has never had a hard time to see the difference. Lack of compassion and empathy are bad and that mind set is of no use to anyone except those who believe it. It's a way of not taking responsibilty for anything or anyone. It's a way to make excuses for not stepping up and doing whats necessary to make our world a better place, even if it's just for 1 person.
You'll make the right decision for yourself and when u get back you'll live the rat-race we call life too soon.

The world needs more young people like u luv.
Kim

reply to post by littlecloud


I wish you all the success. I would ask your dad what does he think you should do to be ready for your travel. Hopefully he gives you some feedback, however if he doesn't, at the very least you are giving him the feeling that your including him. You are his daughter and that would be important to him.

reply to post by littlecloud


Another thing u can consider that your parents might not be opposed to is going for short pds of time a couple times a year. Many organizations and churches have special programs to do exactly what ur interested in.