My Intro Post: A bubble, you say?

I actually created this account 4 years ago, almost to the date actually. Thus, AIESEC sadly, cannot take credit for its inception (Whether I will be incorporating AIESEC into this blog, and if so, to what degree, remains undecided.)

At any rate, the initial reasoning behind my joining the blogging world (apart from the fact that all the 'cool' kids were doing it, ) was that as an idealistic, wide-eyed, and, frankly, kinda dorky soon-to-be highschool graduate, I figured it would be a perfect platform for me to document the pivotal transition to college life, and the subsequent transformation I was about to experience.

However, after the first few postings, and a reflection upon them after a few months of dormancy, I promptly erased my entire blog, partially out of a general need to repriortize my time allocation, but mostly out of sheer embarrasment of the blatantly insignificant, and, for a lack of a better phrase, dumbass shit I would come up with.

Apparently, I didn't have much to say.

So, here I am, four years later, in the same position attempting the same thing. A slightly less wide eyed, but equally idealistic and dorky (although perhaps in different ways) soon-to-be college graduate...only this time my next step is less clear. And I very well may still have nothing to say.

What does make this time different is that the my next step, although uncertain, will entail a departure from the sheltered mainstream midwest lifestyle I have lived these past 22 years. Whether this manifests itself in a year long internship somewhere halfway across the globe, or in the form of my first endeavor into the career world somewhere halfway across the country, I will be exiting my current 'bubble'. In leaving Naperville for Madiosn, I essentially upgraded one bubble for a slightly larger, cheese-obsessed bubble; you might even say my hometown (Naperville) is a bubble within a (Madison) bubble. All this talk about bubbles may seem like I have a deep disdain for them. Indeed, 'living in a bubble' carries a negative connotation, specifically among young, liberal, college students. BUT, if there IS one thing I learned in my four years of college, it is the exact oppisite:

Bubbles are not a bad thing.

There's two reasons behind this conclusion. For starters, let's clarify what people tend to think of when we think of someone who lives in a bubble: A sheltered individual, disconnected from the 'real world,' and often associated with a higher standard of living. Hmm. So since when did being well off and being afforded the wonderful privilege of being free from wont become such a bad thing? Fine, perhaps this lifestyle is often also associated with exploitation, environmental degradation, etc. But it doesn't have to, and the negative connotation would still be there regardless, I guarantee it.

The thing is, I come from a well to do family. I get a lot of the things I want. Why? Because my parents worked their asses off their entire lives, so I didn't have to. And I will do the same for my kids. My kids (if I am able) will not have to work until they are adults. They will not have college loans because I will pay for their education. If they want things, within reason, I will get it for them. Now of course, there are situations where parents cannot provide these things, and working becomes a necessity. I understand this and have a great amount of respect for those who do. I do not believe, however, this is the only way to accquire a work ethic, or to 'appreciate' the value of a dollar. By the very definition of the word, am I spoiled? Probably. Am I a spoiled brat? Not at all. I have a deep understanding for how hard it is to maintain the lifestyle my parents do, and although I don't express it nearly enough as I should, I have a profound appreciation for what they and other individuals do for themselves and for their children. I have come to understand that while I should not be shameful that I am one of the lucky ones, because of my parents I also know that I should neither take it for granted; that there are others, undeservedly so, who do not have it as easy as I do, which ignited my passion for developmental work in the first place. This ideology has nothing to do with the ice cream job I had when I was fifteen, or the hardknock life experience I (didn't) have, but rather everything to do with the values my parents worked hard to instill within me. My bubbly life has offered me a great deal of security, opportunities, and personal development in its own right, the value of which is undeniable.

Second. The whole 'not having experienced the real world.' Not knowing what's beyond your cozy little microcosm. Well what about the beggar on the street, is his world 'the real world?' How about the fact that he has not been exposed to much beyond the cyclical grasp of poverty? Hmm...sounds awfully familiar. And furthermore, what about the middle ground, a rural farmer's life? My mom's side of the family lives such a life, and I find it awfully insulting when people try to peg them as poor. Sure, they don't all have ipod shuffles and (gasp!) direct access to internet connection, but I can tell you they sure are a hell of a lot happier than we are! Perhaps they are the ones in the bubble, unexposed to the pains of greed, vice, and insatiable wants of our morally bankrupt society. Again, see a pattern?

WE ALL LIVE IN BUBBLES!

So, can bubbles be a bad thing, if we all live in them? Well, I don't think so. Perhaps the absense of bubble travel is more of the problem. My dad would argue against this. He is dead set on staying in the 'Naperville bubble' as soon as you gain access. A reponse to an email I sent him regarding me possibly considering a job in Pakistan should sum up his sentiments pretty well:

"Are you nuts, I will rather have you stay home and do nothing, You are driving us crazy., Even the forign embassy staff don't take there family to Pakistan, its the most dangerous place in the world, don't stoop too low. Get some decent job here or get admission for masters. We came from india to make our and childrens life better not to ruin."

It's funny how all I want to do is run to the very thing he's worked so hard to escape...maybe because there's an inherent need to find the bottle from which this bubble was formed... Ew okay. Too metaphorical. But still. What he doesn't realize is he's done quite a bit of bubble travel himself. From his Pakistan to India bubbles, to the European hippy circa 1976 bubble (of which I have hilarious/disturbing photograph evidence of) and finally to the bubble he lives in today.

So, to close this obnoxiously long post, I guess this is to document my bubble travels, and the time period leading up to it. And maybe some random stuff too. I haven't yet decided if all bubbles should even be traveled to or not...as someone who has studied developmental economics, whose aim as of now is to pop poverty bubbles, and is an avid believer in it's not always the best line of logic to put yourself in the same position as someone you are trying to help, when by doing so you hinder yourself from being able to help them in the first place...I guess my answer is no for now.

But who knows, maybe I will learn to blow bigger bubbles and expand my thinking?...or something like that. I don't think I'll be using the bubbles thing anymore.