<p>My husband majored in Wildlife Fisheries Biology in college and spent 4 years with the Peace Corps in Papua New Guinea. It was a life changing experience.</p>
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I’ve always heard this Serenity Prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. And the last line as I’ve known it has been “the wisdom to know the difference.”</p>
<p>adad- simply, it’s complicated.</p>
<p>IrvingStone#1fan- thank you for your enlightening response. although, i probably won’t “pick a major that can be practically useful to peasants in 3rd world countries”. i will be double majoring, with english as my main focus. i am not going to plan everything out, because plans change. but, i do hope to work for the peace corps, at least for two years. i think that work is important and rewarding, yet i want to do something more effective. Meaning, I might go into politics, or try to. Let’s see where that goes…</p>
<p>thank you chedva, fresnomom, and ee33ee!</p>
<p>It’s commendable that you are expanding your awareness to realize that others are not so fortunate. Read the story of Siddhartha; you will appreciate the parallel.</p>
<p>Rather than stifling your joy, SHARE it! Smile at the cashier, the waiter, everyone, everywhere you go. </p>
<p>Joy is a good thing and it ripples out and can uplift the world.</p>
<p>Guilt and poverty don’t accomplish anything. The purpose of guilt is to alert us to something we can learn; now that you’ve been alerted, release the guilt and spread the joy. Find balance in your life; whereas greed and selfishness add to the world’s misery, abundance with a generous spirit can add to the world’s happiness. So be grateful for your abundance, enjoy it, and share it in whatever ways you are able.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, get involved in some sort of activism or service work, to help others.</p>
<p>What a wonderful thread! Best wishes to you on your journey!</p>
<p>"“Lord grant me the strength to change what I can, the ability to accept what I can’t, and the capacity to tell the difference.”</p>
<p>The actual quote is, “Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
by Niebuhr</p>
<p>And some say, “Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the thing that I can: Myself:”</p>
<p>Splendid thread mate. I feel the exact same way … :(</p>
<p>You can always give away your money, join the peace corps, AmeriCares, etc.
Unfortunately, guilt like this is what leads liberals to want to take the property of other people away and redistribute it to benefit their liberal causes.</p>
<p>The Man Who Fed The World is Leon Hesser’s biography of Norman Borlaug. I’m also reminded of Paul De Kruif’s The Hunger Fighters. Altruism may have its place, however for balance read Rand’s The Virtue of Selfishness or Edwin O. Wilson’s books on sociobiology.</p>
<p>Read all the books you want, but they won’t tell you who YOU really are and what makes you really tick. I would go to <a href=“http://www.about-u.com%5B/url%5D”>www.about-u.com</a> and take 40 minutes to discover your psychological DNA. From the 26-page report you will receive, you will discover what your real needs are that fulfill you, something most people are not capable of verbalizing. You will discover what they call “job families” - there are 26 I believe, and you will see your top seven. From this report you can get a true sense of what direction your life should take, the comcomitant possibilities of a college major and, more importantly, what careers you can fit into for a happy life filled with those elements that make you want to get up in the morning with enthusiasm. Have your student take this assessment, and you will find yourself taking it. This assessment isn’t cheap, but who said excellent is cheap? It’s your LIFE we’re talking about, and any advice from GCs on where to go online for some cheap psychological profile does a huge disservice to students. Once you take this assessment, your parents will probably take it as well.</p>