When I was in high school, I thought I had a very defined personality. I didn’t feel like it was going to stay the same forever, but I had a sincere belief that I was, at the mature age of 17, pretty much decided in a lot of areas. Obviously I was wrong. It only took a few months of college to expose me to whole worlds of difference and open my eyes to a million different concepts and beliefs. Now, when I take on a belief I try to do so with the understanding that it is probably transient and unformed. The beliefs are still valid and important and having them is really important, but I’m constantly trying to update and refresh my ideas with new information and different understandings. If there is one belief I hope I never get rid of, it’s the habit I’ve developed of trying to constantly challenge my ideas.
The above has a pretty tenuous connection to what I really want to write about. My university has been really great about exposing us to the importance of conservation, environmental conscience behavior, and just generally becoming more aware of the world and of other people. I’ve recently joined this challenge called the 29-Day Giving Challenge. It’s an online group dedicated to encouraging people to give something away once a day every day. It doesn’t have to be material, it can be something as simple as just sending a kind note to someone or calling a friend to encourage them. They are trying to get 2000 people to join the movement and I hope they get it. I’ll try to keep up with what I do for these 29 days.
So please check it out, www.29gifts.org
