The Jacaranda

Ever since Christmas break I’ve been on this weird shopaholic craze. I’ve been buying soo much stuff and I’m constantly thinking of more and more things I want.  And the whole time, somewhere in the back of my mind I’ve been wondering, why am I acting this way? I’ve NEVER been like this before but I’ve just been shrugging the feeling off, saying for once in my life I should just let go.  But when I stop to really think about it, these material things aren’t what I really want.  The things I really want I’ve been pushing aside, thinking that somehow, by changing the way I look, by acting a little reckless, everything else will fall into place.  I’ve been pushing aside what I really want because admitting it is forcing me to think about things I don’t want to think about.  So I wrote down my real wish list and surprisingly I feel a lot better.  Now that I’ve admitted to myself there are more things I want out of life, I can start thinking about how to go about getting them.  

What’s on your wish list?

Recently I’ve been doing a lot of research on Sudan for some stories and it reminded me of this computer game we played in Governor’s School like three years ago.  It’s called Darfur is Dying and in the game you become a Sudanese refugee trying to get water back to their village without being captured by the Janjaweed.  Most of the characters you choose from are under fifteen years old.  Besides being strangely addicting, it is also very informing.  You can learn a whole lot about the risks of living as a refugee and it will most definitely encourage you to at least become aware of the situation in Darfur.  I encourage you to play the game and check out the rest of the website.  I also encourage you to play. I also encourage you to check out some of the links on the site to Amnesty Internation and Crisis Group for more up to date info.  

Trust me it’s worth it!

http://www.darfurisdying.com/