I spent much of today trying to convince the patrons of the Taco Bell/Long John Silvers' in my county to donate a dollar to help teenagers graduate from high school.
I wonder why the other register people don't get as fired up about it as me.
At first, I didn't care about it terribly much--I mean, it didn't seem nearly as important as the whole "feeding the children" drive we have between October and December... when people all look down at me condescendingly and say, "Oh, no, dear, I can't give today..." or "No, I positively would NOT like to help feed hungry children in Africa..." it makes my blood boil.
Am I the ONLY one?
Most of the others don't even ask, really, anymore. I guess they're tired of getting no all the time, and they're in a hurry. If I wasn't so completely passionate about helping and saving the world, I guess I could understand. But these are PEOPLE. They NEED help. I realize I can't give all the help to every person that will ever need it.
But is it wrong to want 100% of the customers that come into my place of work to say, "Sure, I'll donate a dollar to help an inner-city kid to graduate from high school, be rescued from the influence of gangs, and go on to live a fulfilled and productive life in the future"?
I realize that the program won't even work for every teenager that they try and help. But they're TRYING. Doesn't that mean ANYTHING to middle class America?
Can I just say that middle class America makes my blood boil?
I guess I'm a part of it, even... we all have our little gadgets and our cars and our homes, and we think we have it all together, but we're losing it enough that we can claim an excuse as to why we can't help this cause or that cause. We come from a history of helpfulness and goodness and God and knowing what's right just enough that we know we SHOULD, but we always have a reason why we DON'T. And most of all, "Later" is our favorite word. I can do it later...
I think "later" should be a word that doesn't even exist.
I think later is the worst idea in the whole entire universe.
I think later will ruin us.
I know I can't change everyone, but if every single one of us who CAN do something would actually DO it, then we wouldn't NEED to worry about putting something off any longer--because all the problems would be solved!
And sometimes, I think that middle-class Judeo-Christian America is even worse than middle-class America. "I already donate through my church..."
Every time someone says that to me, I feel like reaching across the counter, slapping them in the face, and saying, "Thank you for that. I'm glad that your church is doing something to help others. But your church isn't helping THIS child stay alive. Your church isn't tutoring THIS teenager to give them a future. So if you can spare a dollar--which I know you can, I can see it RIGHT THERE IN YOUR HAND... Can you PLEASE just give up your selfish little motives and feed a child instead of have another cup of coffee?!"
Ooooh, I HATE Middle-Class America.
So can you do me a favor?
If your local fast food restaurant is helping some cause--even if it isn't backed by your personal theology or religious persuasions--can you PLEASE do me a favor and donate your dollar to help children have a future, or to rescue children from poverty, or to feed a dying child, or whatever other plan this organization is doing to save the world? Thanks.
On the upside, I'm pretty sure I got over $30 in donations to help the teenagers of America. How awesome is that? And that was just me. If I could do that EVERY time I work on register, and if this drive lasts for a month, I could raise about $500 or so. (I don't work a ton, haha.)
It's not hard to change the world.
We just need to try.
So why don't we try?! :*(
Till next time,
Ash the (Sad) Dreamer
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
11 June 2010
21 January 2010
Ashley the Magnificent's Third Adventure!
Hello, World! :)
I desperately need to go read Beowulf for my English (British) lit class, but I'm dreading it. Beowolf is SUCH a weird story! That, and I have some French, math, and possibly writing (for my creative writing class), too! Do you know how much it STINKS to have almost ALL of your classes in college on three days, instead of evenly spread out? I hate having four classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but only having one class on Tuesday and Thursday. I am dreading this. :*(
Hehe, but that's not why I logged on today... Ashley the Magnificent had an experience to remember today, but she's about to split personalities and become Ashley the Bewildered. lol.
So today I only had one class--it's called "Contemporary Issues", and it's beyond boring. :*( But that's not the point.
Anywhooooo... so now my little brother and I both go to the same college, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays, we have the exact same schedule--one class, from 8 to 9:20 am, even in the same building! We're not in the same class, though. :) Anyway, so I went to class, dealt with the boring-ness.
Then after we finished, we went over to this little bookstore that has books for Kutztown students to buy/rent for their classes. We both needed to get some books that weren't there when we bought them earlier. Anyway, so we bought the books, I lost $25 (*tear*), and we went home.
I was hanging out, avoiding homework (not the best idea, mind you...). Then my brother came into my room and told me that the Kutztown POLICE called our house, because somebody had turned in my WALLET! I was so confused--I was like, I HAVE my wallet! :/
But then I looked, and I really didn't. I was so confused, because I didn't have a CLUE how I lost it. Maybe I accidentally left it on the counter or something?
But after talking to the police for about five minutes, and they confirmed that the contents inside were in fact mine, I was just about to arrange to go down there and pick them up, when, across the telephone lines, you would never guess what I heard.
My dad.
So weird. He sometimes works at my school, but I didn't know he was in the area. Anyway, the policeman asked me if I knew were "the com" was or something like that (btw, I don't even KNOW what that is! lol). And I was like, "Uh, no, actually..."
And then my dad was trying to give him instructions to give me to get there! Hehe. It was really funny.
Then the cop was just like, "Um, your dad says he's here... can you tell me his name?"
I was like, "Uhhh..." But I told him. And then he was like, "Okay, well, I'm giving it to him, if that's okay with you..."
I was like, "haha... fine."
And then he hung up.
So strange. :)
And now I have to get to Beowulf.
Happy day, world! :)
Till next time,
Ash the (Amused) Dreamer
I desperately need to go read Beowulf for my English (British) lit class, but I'm dreading it. Beowolf is SUCH a weird story! That, and I have some French, math, and possibly writing (for my creative writing class), too! Do you know how much it STINKS to have almost ALL of your classes in college on three days, instead of evenly spread out? I hate having four classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but only having one class on Tuesday and Thursday. I am dreading this. :*(
Hehe, but that's not why I logged on today... Ashley the Magnificent had an experience to remember today, but she's about to split personalities and become Ashley the Bewildered. lol.
So today I only had one class--it's called "Contemporary Issues", and it's beyond boring. :*( But that's not the point.
Anywhooooo... so now my little brother and I both go to the same college, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays, we have the exact same schedule--one class, from 8 to 9:20 am, even in the same building! We're not in the same class, though. :) Anyway, so I went to class, dealt with the boring-ness.
Then after we finished, we went over to this little bookstore that has books for Kutztown students to buy/rent for their classes. We both needed to get some books that weren't there when we bought them earlier. Anyway, so we bought the books, I lost $25 (*tear*), and we went home.
I was hanging out, avoiding homework (not the best idea, mind you...). Then my brother came into my room and told me that the Kutztown POLICE called our house, because somebody had turned in my WALLET! I was so confused--I was like, I HAVE my wallet! :/
But then I looked, and I really didn't. I was so confused, because I didn't have a CLUE how I lost it. Maybe I accidentally left it on the counter or something?
But after talking to the police for about five minutes, and they confirmed that the contents inside were in fact mine, I was just about to arrange to go down there and pick them up, when, across the telephone lines, you would never guess what I heard.
My dad.
So weird. He sometimes works at my school, but I didn't know he was in the area. Anyway, the policeman asked me if I knew were "the com" was or something like that (btw, I don't even KNOW what that is! lol). And I was like, "Uh, no, actually..."
And then my dad was trying to give him instructions to give me to get there! Hehe. It was really funny.
Then the cop was just like, "Um, your dad says he's here... can you tell me his name?"
I was like, "Uhhh..." But I told him. And then he was like, "Okay, well, I'm giving it to him, if that's okay with you..."
I was like, "haha... fine."
And then he hung up.
So strange. :)
And now I have to get to Beowulf.
Happy day, world! :)
Till next time,
Ash the (Amused) Dreamer
13 November 2009
sweet irene and other stuff...
hello, friend (or friends, perhaps?)! :) here we are again, and it's another lovely friday night!!!! :) gah, i LOVE friday nights!!!! :)
anyway, new week, new song, so since i can't live without Christian music, and i can't imagine anyone who could live without it, i will post the lovely song for you! :) (btw, that last sentence was DRIPPING with sarcasm... hope you picked up on that... *grin*)
this is casting crowns, with their new single, until the whole world hears. :)
but i digress. :)
GAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i'm soooooooooo excited!!!!!! for the past couple weeks now, i've REALLY wanted to sponsor a child through compassion international (currently my favorite ministry in the whole world). if you don't know what compassion does, go to www.compassion.com and check it out. if you can walk away from those HUNDREDS of innocent, loveable faces, unscathed, then... well, i don't know what i would do, because i don't know if my sarcastic side would congratulate you for being so callous, or if i would ignore you and go and cry that such innocent, lovely children don't even have a chance at true life anymore. :/
anyway, so i've been planning, and PLANNING to sponsor a little girl from the hundreds of children that need sponsoring (i think there's almost 900 girls alone, from age 3 to 18, that need to be sponsored... that doesn't even include the boys!). the first night i checked it out, it was this precious little girl from honduras whose name is carolina. she was so perfect. and adorable. and my heart was perfectly attached to hers. but alas, i had about $25 to my name. gah. i hate college right now. so i had to transfer my money from my paychecks to my checking account, but i kept pushing it off because i'm so busy. well, somebody adopted that adorable little girl and left my heart crushed. :/ and then i found a three-year-old little girl named yestin who was so incredibly sweet. i was sure she was the one. the same night i found her, someone else adopted her, too! :/ and then, i found irene. she was a little four-year-old from el salvador, and she'd remained unsponsored for over half a year, and i grew to love her SO much, and i just knew she was to be mine! well, this week somebody up and sponsored her, too. i was crushed. i already felt like irene was my little girl, almost like a daughter to me, and now she's someone else's. :*( and i was so sure she would be mine, because there were several times when she was sponsored, and then, there she was, back again, and i was just so sure. :/ but now, every time i look at all those faces, my heart breaks, but now i can't find one i KNOW i'm supposed to sponsor, because irene's not there. :*( maybe by monday (when my money should be in my account) i'll find the perfect girl. who knows. pray that i know which precious gem to sponsor!
other than that, i've just been stepping back from my life and making some changes. it feels good. i think Jesus wanted this for me for a while, and now i'm finally listening. stupid, stupid me! :)
anyway, that's me. :)
maybe when i find the perfect little girl, i'll post a picture for you all to see! :)
anyway, happy weekend, everybody! :)
until next time,
ash the (crushed and ecstatic at the same time!!!!) dreamer
anyway, new week, new song, so since i can't live without Christian music, and i can't imagine anyone who could live without it, i will post the lovely song for you! :) (btw, that last sentence was DRIPPING with sarcasm... hope you picked up on that... *grin*)
this is casting crowns, with their new single, until the whole world hears. :)
but i digress. :)
GAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i'm soooooooooo excited!!!!!! for the past couple weeks now, i've REALLY wanted to sponsor a child through compassion international (currently my favorite ministry in the whole world). if you don't know what compassion does, go to www.compassion.com and check it out. if you can walk away from those HUNDREDS of innocent, loveable faces, unscathed, then... well, i don't know what i would do, because i don't know if my sarcastic side would congratulate you for being so callous, or if i would ignore you and go and cry that such innocent, lovely children don't even have a chance at true life anymore. :/
anyway, so i've been planning, and PLANNING to sponsor a little girl from the hundreds of children that need sponsoring (i think there's almost 900 girls alone, from age 3 to 18, that need to be sponsored... that doesn't even include the boys!). the first night i checked it out, it was this precious little girl from honduras whose name is carolina. she was so perfect. and adorable. and my heart was perfectly attached to hers. but alas, i had about $25 to my name. gah. i hate college right now. so i had to transfer my money from my paychecks to my checking account, but i kept pushing it off because i'm so busy. well, somebody adopted that adorable little girl and left my heart crushed. :/ and then i found a three-year-old little girl named yestin who was so incredibly sweet. i was sure she was the one. the same night i found her, someone else adopted her, too! :/ and then, i found irene. she was a little four-year-old from el salvador, and she'd remained unsponsored for over half a year, and i grew to love her SO much, and i just knew she was to be mine! well, this week somebody up and sponsored her, too. i was crushed. i already felt like irene was my little girl, almost like a daughter to me, and now she's someone else's. :*( and i was so sure she would be mine, because there were several times when she was sponsored, and then, there she was, back again, and i was just so sure. :/ but now, every time i look at all those faces, my heart breaks, but now i can't find one i KNOW i'm supposed to sponsor, because irene's not there. :*( maybe by monday (when my money should be in my account) i'll find the perfect girl. who knows. pray that i know which precious gem to sponsor!
other than that, i've just been stepping back from my life and making some changes. it feels good. i think Jesus wanted this for me for a while, and now i'm finally listening. stupid, stupid me! :)
anyway, that's me. :)
maybe when i find the perfect little girl, i'll post a picture for you all to see! :)
anyway, happy weekend, everybody! :)
until next time,
ash the (crushed and ecstatic at the same time!!!!) dreamer
07 January 2009
so, i'm back at my private college in the midwest, and i never thought it would be this different!!!!!!!!!! i can't believe it. i figured i'd keep you up-to-date, though, so here's my update.
my friends are awesome. i can't believe i have gone this long without seeing them. they're gonna kill me if i become a task force dean next school year. haha. oh, yeah. i'm trying to be a task force dean at my old boarding academy. hope that works. we'll see. i just got internet today, and i'm pretty psyched about that. i just found out i have no quarters or laundry detergent for doing laundry, and i'm not too psyched about that. i can't find my new pjs that i got for Christmas, and i am not too psyched about that, either. i am pretty psyched that i've been talkin to some people about baby names, lately, though. can't believe how addicting that is. maybe they should have another na (is there a narcotics anonymous? there should be a names anonymous. man, i need help, lol).
i have three psych classes, a history class, a badminton class (which i'm totally psyched for... i LOVE playing badminton, and i haven't gotten to since, like, eighth grade), and a Bible class (which i'm pretty psyched for, too!). mainly, i'm psyched to be alive, and psyched that i'm around all these people that are crazy about me, and i don't even know why!!!!!!! haha. i guess i really am loved. can't wait to meet sanctus real again... i'm planning on that for my spring break (hopefully, anyway!!!!!). i'm planning something, but i want it to be a surprise! so i'll tell you all about it later.
i think i should apply for scholarships here. that way, i can get more money, so i'll have money to go to the sanctus real concert over break. that'll be awesome. i talked to my mom today, and she's gonna send me a care package... already! YAY!!!!!! i can't wait. cookies and pudding and nutella and pop-tarts and string cheese and apple cider!!!!!!!!!! my favorite-est things in the whole world! :) (well, besides people and things about Jesus and the Bible and writing, of course, lol)
well, i'm getting tired, and i have a crazy load of classes tomorrow, so i'll talk to you guys later... :)
love,
ash
my friends are awesome. i can't believe i have gone this long without seeing them. they're gonna kill me if i become a task force dean next school year. haha. oh, yeah. i'm trying to be a task force dean at my old boarding academy. hope that works. we'll see. i just got internet today, and i'm pretty psyched about that. i just found out i have no quarters or laundry detergent for doing laundry, and i'm not too psyched about that. i can't find my new pjs that i got for Christmas, and i am not too psyched about that, either. i am pretty psyched that i've been talkin to some people about baby names, lately, though. can't believe how addicting that is. maybe they should have another na (is there a narcotics anonymous? there should be a names anonymous. man, i need help, lol).
i have three psych classes, a history class, a badminton class (which i'm totally psyched for... i LOVE playing badminton, and i haven't gotten to since, like, eighth grade), and a Bible class (which i'm pretty psyched for, too!). mainly, i'm psyched to be alive, and psyched that i'm around all these people that are crazy about me, and i don't even know why!!!!!!! haha. i guess i really am loved. can't wait to meet sanctus real again... i'm planning on that for my spring break (hopefully, anyway!!!!!). i'm planning something, but i want it to be a surprise! so i'll tell you all about it later.
i think i should apply for scholarships here. that way, i can get more money, so i'll have money to go to the sanctus real concert over break. that'll be awesome. i talked to my mom today, and she's gonna send me a care package... already! YAY!!!!!! i can't wait. cookies and pudding and nutella and pop-tarts and string cheese and apple cider!!!!!!!!!! my favorite-est things in the whole world! :) (well, besides people and things about Jesus and the Bible and writing, of course, lol)
well, i'm getting tired, and i have a crazy load of classes tomorrow, so i'll talk to you guys later... :)
love,
ash
30 June 2008
peace
i feel at peace tonight. if you knew what was going on in my life, you would understand how great of a statement that is... and a lot has been going on... my computer is spasming (well, that's my word for it... i'm not sure what's wrong, and neither does my techno-savvy dad), i have practically no money to return to my dream college, and i have so much on my plate that i can't even try to reach for all the dreams in my heart... but tonight, i am at peace.
i recently (last weekend) began to tithe again. if you don't know, that is when you take 10 percent of all your income, and you give it to Jesus through a church. it generally goes to support the church's pastor (which it does in my church), but it is something i really believe in. anyway, it's not that i stopped tithing... it's that i didn't know how to get my tithe from my newly opened checking account to the tithe at my new church at college... and, well, there was a lot of tithing to do. i'm pretty popular at my church... well, either that, or i don't know what, but i got a LOT of money for my high school graduation. :) then my parents gave me some spending money over the past school year, and i didn't pay tithe on ANY of it, so there goes my savings for college! and i wasn't even thinking about how this was going to deplete half of my college savings... i was just thinking about how i wanted to give back to Jesus again, and, well, He would have to take care of my school bill, because i was going to put Him first in this thing, no other way about it. i don't regret the decision at all, but now that i may have to spend HUNDREDS of dollars on my computer, which i NEED for college... it isn't as easy to sleep at night. :*(
there's this song that is pretty popular on Christian radio right now, by my favorite band of all time, Sanctus Real. it's called "whatever you're doing (something heavenly)". it's not my favorite song to dance and sing at the top of my lungs to, but when the hard times come, it's definitely something that reminds me of Jesus and gives me peace. anyway, this is the chorus:
Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something Heavenly...
i don't know completely what i'm trying to say tonight. maybe... maybe it's just that things don't have to be okay... they just have to be in God's hands. because... because Jesus gives peace, and that's all i need.
until next time,
ash
i recently (last weekend) began to tithe again. if you don't know, that is when you take 10 percent of all your income, and you give it to Jesus through a church. it generally goes to support the church's pastor (which it does in my church), but it is something i really believe in. anyway, it's not that i stopped tithing... it's that i didn't know how to get my tithe from my newly opened checking account to the tithe at my new church at college... and, well, there was a lot of tithing to do. i'm pretty popular at my church... well, either that, or i don't know what, but i got a LOT of money for my high school graduation. :) then my parents gave me some spending money over the past school year, and i didn't pay tithe on ANY of it, so there goes my savings for college! and i wasn't even thinking about how this was going to deplete half of my college savings... i was just thinking about how i wanted to give back to Jesus again, and, well, He would have to take care of my school bill, because i was going to put Him first in this thing, no other way about it. i don't regret the decision at all, but now that i may have to spend HUNDREDS of dollars on my computer, which i NEED for college... it isn't as easy to sleep at night. :*(
there's this song that is pretty popular on Christian radio right now, by my favorite band of all time, Sanctus Real. it's called "whatever you're doing (something heavenly)". it's not my favorite song to dance and sing at the top of my lungs to, but when the hard times come, it's definitely something that reminds me of Jesus and gives me peace. anyway, this is the chorus:
Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something Heavenly...
i don't know completely what i'm trying to say tonight. maybe... maybe it's just that things don't have to be okay... they just have to be in God's hands. because... because Jesus gives peace, and that's all i need.
until next time,
ash
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