First, an update on my life....I took another job last week. Believe it or not, this is something (I think) I am excited for. I'll start working at Sylvan Learning Center, an after-school tutoring program, next week. I'm a little nervous, but more excited than anything. The hours are from 4-8 PM Monday through Thursday (I won't be working all of those, but it's nice to know that I can't work anything outside of those hours, because that means a very nice weekend!). They want to train me in their writing, study skills, beginning reading, and lower-level math programs. I'm seriously pumped about this. Though the atmosphere was less than energetic when I went in for an interview (quiet as a church might be more accurate), the "vision" behind the place seems really in line with what I've come to believe about education. The focus is really on increasing the kids' self esteem, focusing more on their effort than on grades. I think the Japanese education system totally put a seed of that type of thinking in me. As much as I fought it at first, the longer I was there, I think the more it shaped my views of how a child should learn. Anyway, I'll let you all know how it goes...maybe after I settle in since I tend to hate things for at least a month after I start them : ). On another note, I was thinking about something that struck me last night. My dad and I went on our first Daddy-Daughter Date since Christmas last night. It was a lot of fun - Olive Garden food (yum, yum, yum), a glass of wine, smoothies back at home, and then a movie. I generally watch more films than my dad (if this wasn't the case, I'd be worried ; ), so I wanted to pick something he'd enjoy, even if I'd already seen it. I got into my video collection and pulled out two that he hadn't seen yet: I am Sam and Hotel Rwanda. As we were debating over which film to watch, I was surprised by the internal struggle that actually began in me over those choices. Here we had two great movies: A film about keeping your child-like view of the world - unhindered love and compassion for people, even in the face of adversity and hardship. On the other hand: A call to international awareness and action, highlighting the attrocities that happen in our world because of people's lack of it. I was torn. On the one hand, I just wanted to watch a feel-good movie. Something that made me want to love people more. On the other hand, I, seriously, felt guilty for not wanting to watch a film that showed so graphically the sufferings of others. So I ask: Which is better? To keep your child-like view of the world, openly loving and trusting others, or to view it more realistically (perhaps), constantly updating oneself on the hardships that others face in order to offer a measure of help to someone somewhere? Seriously, I ask myself: How should we live? I find myself, after almost three months of working so closely with small, light-hearted children (some children, due to their circumstances have not the chance to be so lighthearted), desiring to become more like these kids. P.J. trusts almost anybody. He willingly offers himself to people, desiring simply to make them smile. He showers me with affection: kisses, hugs, "I love you's" and "I'm so happy you're here's". I want to approach the world like that. But, on the other hand, I can't ignore what I've seen and known, either, having traveled where I have and seen pain and suffering like Americans rarely know. I was struck by a video that I saw on my favorite artist, Sara Groves' website. I don't know how to put videos on here, but here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSdP6PqsbJY And so I ask...where is the balance? Where is the link? Is there such a thing as a child-like call to action? Can one smile like a child in the face of suffering - someone else's suffering? The Word says that Jesus was a "Man of sorrows, well acquainted with grief." Do you think he still smiled a lot? Like a child? P.S. In the end we went with I am Sam...