Hello Tumblr! Today, I ask you all to do something that will not benefit you in any way, other than having that fuzzy feeling inside when you know you’ve done something good.
Next summer (May 2013), I will be travelling with a group from my university to El Canton, Honduras, to implement a water-cleaning system for a small village that currently lacks access to clean water for consumption/sanitation. I’m sure that you’re well aware of the many problems we currently face in the world in relation to water, and the many diseases that people in developing countries suffer from because they don’t have access to a clean form of one of our most basic necessities. In case you aren’t, here’s a good site outlining many of the challenges/problems we face: http://water.org/
Here’s where you come in: I have to raise $1400 to cover the travel and lodging expenses for the trip. This is a very small amount of money when weighed against the good that will come of it. If you have the ability to donate (be it any small, seemingly insignificant amount), I encourage you to do so. If just 280 people saw this and donated $5, the cost would be covered. If you’d like to donate, just click the link above, select “Donate”, and make sure to hit “Make a donation on behalf of a volunteer.” My name is Kenneth Raghunandan (that’s right internet, you now know my name and my university, COME AT ME). If you see that I’ve already reached the $1400 goal, please donate on behalf of another volunteer.
“I HAVE NO MONEY BUT I WANT TO HELP”: That’s completely fine. What can you do to help? Simply reblogging/sharing this message would be a great help on its own. The more people that see this, the greater the chances of the donation goal being reached is.
If you have any questions, or would like any information not provided in the above link, feel free to send me an ask and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible!
Please internet, I’m asking for a small contribution from each of you to make a change in our world that will improve the lives of others in an uncountable number of ways. I encourage all of you to see what kinds of projects/events are going on in your own areas and to get involved. It’s our job to leave this world a better place than we found it, LETS MAKE IT HAPPEN!
Help a brotha out.
This brotha could still use some help. I’ve got 5 days left to raise $313. LETS DO THIS
My newest (and hopefully last) start of a new blog
I have a tendency to start new projects. The beginnings of new projects have certain lightness; the possibilities of their potential have yet been defined. A collection of cherished memories yet to be captured, the new pages of a journal are treasured for their future worth. The exhilaration that I receive from creating something new is unmatched; however, the feeling subsides as flaws in my project become apparent. The once seemingly limitless project now is overshadowed by its imperfections, creating a personal conundrum. At the first sign of mistakes, a presaging thought occurs: should I continue working on a project that is forever stained by my past shortcomings? While these troubles are easily dismissed at the onset, slowly the shirking of responsibility to the project leads to more mistakes, compounding to more and more shirking the work required of the project.
Alas, I say that this will go on no more! In an attempt to end the vicious cycle of new project after new project, new blog after new blog, I believe that I have now brought together all the elements of my ideal blog—the ne plus ultra of blogs, if you will.
I would like to make a few comments on why I am so excited about this blog. First of all, I am very proud of the personal branding that I have attached to this blog. I recall hearing an interview on NPR one day quite a while ago (sadly, it would be impossible for me to try to find the interview), and one of the main messages the interviewee conveyed was that it is rather impossible to keep our personal internet-lives separate from our lives “IRL,” so we might as well embrace the fact ultimately what we do online forever follows us. I guess this is my own bold attempt at controlling what there is “out there on the interwebs” about me. Instead of fearing what employer might track down about me, this will be a professional blog that I hope I will be proud of, a serious undertaking that will show my diverse interests and interesting views.
Another reason why I am excited about this his blog incorporates nearly every social media outlet that I engage in. I hopefully will find out how to get my Twitter feed on this site, and hopefully that will keep me more involved in tweeting. Also, my sister is giving me back my camera, so I plan on taking photos and uploading them to Flickr soon. Anyone can easily browse my Instagram feed or past projects that I have uploaded to Flickr. It’s so nice having everything in one place!
I plan on doing a lot with this blog. I want to post my thoughts on readings and new music, things that are happening in my life, or whatever is on my mind. I want to post often. I want to keep reblogging more restricted to what important information others should see, and instead of reblogging what I find aesthetically pleasing, I can like it and it will be available for anyone to see in its own tab. I want to keep this blog appropriate for anyone to enjoy, yet honest enough for me to develop my thoughts on what is important for me. This might be the hardest balance to strike on this blog.
Hopefully this project will last. In one sense, I hope I will be able to stick with this project. At this point, I have good faith in my ability to keep up with this blog. In another sense, I know this blog will last, as once my thoughts are committed to this page, they remain here with a certain degree of permanence.
I’m Ryan, and welcome to my blog!
Check out my new blog!
It’s starting to look a lot more like home! (at Château de Chatte)
Awwwh yeah, moving in all of my college textbooks. I love my new place! (à Château de Chatte)
when you feel you have lost everything, you still have
- books
- unexpected kindness in strangers
- the rest of the world to travel
- languages to learn
- animals to take care of
- volunteer work to do
- the power of a good night’s rest
- the changing of seasons
- infinite things to learn
- billions of people to meet and possibly love
- billions of people who might love you back
(via queenteatime)
Our system is hooked on growth per se, and does not see growth as a temporary means of attaining some optimum level of stocks, but as an end in itself. Why? Perhaps because, as one prominent economist so bluntly put it in defending growth: Growth is a substitute for equality of income. So long as there is growth there is hope, and that makes large income differentials tolerable. We are addicted to growth because we are addicted to large inequalities in income and wealth. To paraphrase Marie Antoinette: Let them eat growth. Better yet, let the poor hope to eat growth in the future.
haha I’m allergic to coconuts but I love this picture!
dayyyyyyyyyyyyyyymn that’s one beautiful coconut!!!
(via organic-dreamer)
