Title: random philosopher

Gender: Female

Age: Ageless

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Chinese Sign: Wood Dragon

Location: San Francisco, CA

When I was in 5th grade (in India), I had a best friend named Deepa Kulkarni. We became friends because we waited for the school bus together every morning. We sat together in the bus and developed elaborate plans about how we were going to eradicate the poverty in India.  We were going to build self-sufficient corporations where we'd employ poor people and help them become empowered to change their lives.

I don't know why we were so motivated.  Maybe it was the rows and rows of huts and naked undernourished children that we saw everyday on our way to school. Maybe it was middle class guilt. I don't know.  Poverty was part of our lives - we saw it all around us.

My mom had a drawer full of change that she saved for the beggars who came to our house everyday. I took pleasure in dropping a fistful of change into the apperciative hands and felt good about the blessings offered in return.  This is how things were and we all played our roles…but even as kids, Deepa and I understood that this wasn't fair and we wanted to change things.

We didn't. 

I left India at the age of eleven and moved to the US. I don't know what happened to Deepa - she's probably out there making a difference. But I miss that part of myself, the young child who was sincerely passionate about improving the lives of those less fortunate than myself.

In the years since, I've become too self-centered and materialistic to find the time for others but every once in a while I miss that girl that I was and I want to get back in touch with her…

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Although I lost track of my childhood passions, here are some that I discovered along the way of growing into an adult (still working on that part so all of this is a work in progress ;)

Asha, a literacy organization that I supported for many years as a volunteer

Gandhi Quotes
Neogitations 101 (work-in-progress)

Stuff I've created (paintings, photos, short films, cartoons…)

My Column (click the column link for the most recent column)
Other Stuff I've written

Political Cafe - a salon for political discourse

Fun Flash Stuff  (games, cartoons, etc.)

-leena-

Member Since: Wednesday, January 03 2007

Last Visit: 512 days ago.

Profile Viewed: 776 times (last viewed less than a minute ago)