When Things Go Wrong

I'm very blessed in my church. I think that I can confidently say I go to the church with the absolute best group of kids in the world. We are all so different it's hard to believe, but as a general rule we also all get along quite well.
Why am I bringing this up?
Because of something that has united a lot of us recently, and to my shame I have not been as active in as I should be.
That is to say, charity.
Our charity of choice is World Vision, an organization that helps needy families from literally all over the world. They provide resources for people - farm animals that will produce milk, chickens to lay eggs, fresh water fountains - rather than just "helping them out now".
Over the past two or so years, many of the kids in our church, especially the junior-high (now mostly highschool) class - about 6-8 girls and one boy - have raised over a thousand (probably closer to two thousand if not over that much)dollars toward charity through their own donations, yard sales, bake sales, and other fund raising events. I've helped some with this, but as I said earlier, not nearly enough.
This leads me to say three things.
1. I'm immensely proud of these kids, one of whom is my sister. They are making a difference in the world. They have helped people, raised awareness, and had fun through the whole process. They are not doing this because they have to, or for a school project of any sort - they're doing it because it is WHAT they want to be doing. How amazing is that?
2. Things are wrong in the world - and most of us have so much to be thankful for. The people these donations are going to cannot simply update their blog whenever they want. They don't have the luxury of ranting online, nor the privilege of making friends all over the world like I have. They have, quite literally, nothing. That is a concept that is nearly impossible for me to grasp. It probably is for you too, seeing as you obviously at least have access to a computer - though most of you have home computers/laptops, or even your own computer.
3. There are people out there who are willing to help. It's hard to remember that sometimes, but it is true. No matter what problems you are having, someone will be there for you. I have found many wonderful people to be there for me, and most of them I would consider my best friends. Even when you don't have the wonderful honor to know the people who are there for you on a personal level, they are there. Workers in hospitals, social workers, people from halfway around the world who are willing to give their money to help your family - they are there.
So please, don't give up hope.
~Not Caroline

Therapy

We all use it. Some have different methods than others; but we all have it. For one person it might be shopping. For another, it might be playing Call of Duty . Whatever it is, we all have a form of therapy-- a way to deal with negative emotions. I have many forms of therapy; the ones I use the most are drawing and playing piano. ( as an aside, have you ever tried pounding your heart out on a set of ivories while your nose is running and you're wailing like an infant? It's very difficult.)  I would have to say art is my first choice for letting out bad feelings-- it's a directly emotion-influenced outlet that is a lasting record of your mindset. Here's an example:

It's not perfect. It's not supposed to be. It's simply a visualization of my feelings; a channel for all the anxiety and frustration I keep inside sometimes. 


Another recent pick of mine would be poetry.

Let me just say this flat out: I don't like writing poems.  It's not that I hate writing, or that I have a lack of subject matter, I just think it's kind of a pathetic way of dealing with hardship. However, just this once, I broke my own rule ( insert gasps of shock here) and wrote a couplet. 
It wasn't supposed to be a couplet. It was originally going to be a quatrain. But whatever. A couplet works just as well. 

                 STRENGTH

There are some days when I may look as though I do not care
But don't let this deceive you; the tears and smiles are there 

I know this mask of nonchalant indifference is cheap
But sometimes I don't want to let the others see me weep

By pushing all the pain away, what really am I solving?
I can't get up, I can't move on if I just keep on crawling

You can't put out the fire if you don't accept the burns
For some pathetic reason though, I just can't seem to learn.

"Weakness is a sign of fear, a sign of base defect."
If this be true, then let me be apart from all the rest

True strength is not the loss of every feeling, joy, and pain
It's the skill to keep on smiling when you're stranded in the rain.



Therapy-- what's yours?

Ad Astra Per Aspera.
~Caroline