Chocolate

Hey guys! Today I thought I'd post an update on chocolate, but I also would like to encourage you to consider a few things--more on that to come later. :)

The other day I realized that it has only been about a year since I decided to stop eating non-fair-trade chocolate, but then again, it seems kind of crazy that it's already been so long.

At first, I thought I'd never really be able to not eat chocolate. I mean, yeah, it is possible to find fair trade chocolate, but I don't really know anyone who stocks up their candy dishes with it. Plus, come on: it all tastes the same! Sometimes I would just forget, and then I would feel really bad. But then I sat down and wrote a post about only eating fair trade chocolate. In the process, I really had to look at my motivations. This turned out to be a really great thing because saying something and and sitting down and clarifying it for myself and anyone else are two different things.

So then I couldn't find anything fair-trade, and I just resigned myself to not eating chocolate ever. Thankfully, I found out a few months ago that wal-mart carries a fair-trade brand (green and blacks,) and although the bars are more expensive than others, they are way better, and have totally satisfied the few chocolate cravings I've had.

On a (rather long) side note, when I went back and re-read my first post about chocolate, and found I was really vague when it came to statistics. So I thought I'd actually give some facts, and just encourage you to think about what you consume.

75% of America's chocolate is sourced from the Ivory Coast, where over 15,000 child slaves are forced to work for little or no wages. They are there because they have been kidnapped or sold by family members, or are born into slavery. (BTW, the Ivory Coast is a country; it's circled in the picture below.)

I have also read that there are as many or more than 269,000 child slaves in surrounding countries in West Africa. This is just so sickening, and although I know most people like chocolate way too much to give most of it up just as a reminder to be thankful for what I have, and remember to try to make a difference, it's really opened my eyes.

People have asked me before why I have just quit eating chocolate. "There are so many other products that we buy every day that are produced in places where conditions are terrible, and don't you care about those too?" Or "do you really think you can make a difference?" Well, I know that if I tried to find out about everything we consume in just our household, I'd probably be opposed to just about everything in one form or another. But I can't possibly do that. That is not my mission. My mission is to raise awareness in those around me, and maybe plant a seed to get others thinking. I know that just my eating chocolate will not change the fact that there are literally millions of slaves in bondage today. But like I said in my last post, it's not about trying to change the world yet, it's about me. Do I really want to live life in an oblivious state? This is my reminder not to.

So, that is my update. HERE is my challenge. Take some time this month, and learn about a group of people who don't have it as good as you do. It doesn't matter if it's child slaves in Africa, or homeless families in New York. Find out about what they go through, and see if you can make a difference. If you don't think that you can really do much, think about simply changing your lifestyle. It can be something like I did in only supporting fair-trade chocolate and using it as a reminder that I am crazy blessed, or raising money for a specific cause. Even sending care packages to someone, or recycling boxes as a reminder that some people live in cardboard boxes. 

So, what are you going to do? 

Cheers, 

Lauren 

speeching

I 've been speeching lately. It's a lot of fun, but my thought process is always really scattered, leaving me kind of drained afterward. Anyway, in a spurt of semi-creativeness, I tried to re-create what goes through my mind. Hope you enjoy! :)

~~~

All eyes are staring; waiting expectantly. But it's not about speed. Am I comfortable? In the company of friends, right? No firring squad -just like minded people. Don't over-think. Smile. Ready? GO.

I take a breath and start. The words flow through me; muscle memory of the vocal chords. But I'm not telling just any story. I feel my words working through the numbing effects of the adrenaline pulsing through my veins. Do they see yet? My story is unfolding, and they will soon know. Focus. Passion. Don't be too dramatic. And then suddenly I drop my grenade. Weren't expecting that were you? Now you know my secret too. But I must wrap up now-- carry through. I've gotten through all the hard parts. But don't forget, the ending is just as important. Slow down, remember? Last sentence. 1-2 *pause* 3 breath. 4 *contact*....5.

And it's over. Last sentence nailed. Step back. Breath. It's done.

Cheers!
Lauren

How can you not want to make a difference?

WARNING: this post is a rant. If you don't want to read my complaints please stop reading here. Thanks. :) 

~~~~~

Some of you know that I am taking an online history class this year. Over all, it's been pretty good, but there have been times when I've gotten really frustrated. One such time was during an all-class discussion. We had been studying the industrial revolution, and the question was asked of my class if we thought that it would be a good idea for someone to make a new version of How the Other Half lives, by Jacob Riis.

Now I have to admit, before this I'd never heard of the book. So I did a little research, and found that it was a really eye opening book when it came out in 1890. Basically, because there was such a economical gap between the classes, many upper class people were oblivious of the life-styles of lower class people. The author, Jacob Riis, was working to change that.

Anyway, the question asked of my class was a simple, "do you think society needs a new version of the book?" Obviously, I said yes. But for others in the class the answer was not the same. Here's my point of view: Americans seem very self-absorbed. We don't want to notice anything outside of our self-centered bubble of a life. An eye opening book, or TV show might force us do just that though. Yeah, it sounds harsh to say that our nation as a whole is self-absorbed, but it's how I feel right now. No apology there. And no, I am not saying that I am exempt from this bug.

Anyway, I checked back in with the message board a few days later, and the responses that I read from the other students really shocked me. Instead of agreeing that something needs to change, most either said that there are enough eye opening books out there, or that poverty will always be here no matter what we do.

I'm not going to lie, this made me very frustrated. I don't see how people can say that we don't need to do anything to learn about, or to help others. It just doesn't make sense to me. *Sigh* 

So, I wrote the above post about a month and a half ago. I didn't post it because I wanted to go back a re-read what I wrote when I was in a less rant-ish mood. I feel the same way now as I did then. Needless to say, I'ma gonna post this. :)

Oh, and if there is any possibility that anyone is interested, here's what I posted to the class.

I think that it would be very helpful to inform Americans about the 'other half'. I don’t think that many Americans sufficiently understand what living conditions are really like in other countries, as well as in parts of America. Yes, the book by Jacob Riis probably gives a very shocking picture, but so much has changed since the early 1900s that I think that there would have to be a lot of outdated material. I do not understand how anyone could say that no good could come from an updated form of the book. It might be better if it was in the form of videos, or maybe webzines, so it could reach a broader audience, but just because there was a book published in 1890 does not mean that there is not need to be an updated version of it 2011.

Cheers,

Lauren

quick update

Whew. This has been a *mostly good* emotional week for me. Several things have happened, and it's kind of hard to decide where to start. :D

I guess I should start by telling you that last Tuesday I quit dance. Yup. I've been dancing for nine years, and I quit. Hopefully, I'll be able to start back up next fall though, so it's only temporary. This was a very, very hard decision for me to make. But I've been terribly overwhelmed with school, and have been having a hard time keeping up in most of my studies. This was really the only thing that I could possibly drop. So, while I am sad to not be dancing, I'll be back next fall. And now I hope it will be easier to keep up in school. So long for now dance! I'll miss you a lot!

Also, I've been preparing for a state oratory contest for several weeks, and traveled to Little Rock Saturday to give my [seven minute] memorized no-notes speech. It went fairly well-- I won. But there were only two of us, so it's not like I beat out a room full of people. Which makes the next step super scary. --Nationals will have anywhere from 20-40 people competing.

The down side of this is, I don't get to go to Summer Excitement this year because I will be at nationals in Florida. This is the first time in three years I won't go to SE.

Last bit of new info: I'll be speaking tomorrow at the 40 days for life kick off rally, in the Planned Parenthood parking lot if Fay-town. It's the same speech as the one for Little Rock, but I'm adding a new ending specifically for the event. It should be fun!

Well, now I'm going to go crash. Sorry this is a kind of boring post.
Toodles.
~Lauren

letters make me happy

Recently, I've taken an interest in old letters. Silly, I know, but I feel like no one communicates snail-style, and that just makes me sad. Then there's also the whole "you probably won't be able to keep any kind of special letters for years and years to pass down to you grandchildren if they are in your e-mail only."

Anyway, here's a letter that Mark Twain wrote his wife Livy on her thirtieth birthday. I think it's sweet.

~~~~~

Livy darling, six years have gone by since I made my first great success in life and won you, and thirty years have passed since Providence made preparation for that happy success by sending you into the world.

Every day we live together adds to the security of my confidence, that we can never any more wish to be separated than that we can ever imagine a regret that we were ever joined. You are dearer to me to-day, my child, than you were upon the last anniversary of this birth-day; you were dearer then than you were a year before—you have grown more and more dear from the first of those anniversaries, and I do not doubt that this precious progression will continue on to the end.

Let us look forward to the coming anniversaries, with their age and their gray hairs without fear and without depression, trusting and believing that the love we bear each other will be sufficient to make them blessed.

So, with abounding affection for you and our babies, I hail this day that brings you the matronly grace and dignity of three decades. 

Always yours,

S.L.C.

Toodles, 

Lauren 

P.S. If anyone is looking for a terribly inconsistent snail-mail pen-pal, I'm interested. :)  

Be thou exalted over my reputation

A friend shared this video on facebook a while back, and I really really like it. Not much more to say--watch it!
Oh, and I'm posting this instead of a QOTM. I've been super busy lately, and don't have the time or energy to go find quotes now. Toodles, Lauren