Masters Application!

This is my letter of motivation for applying to the Masters in International Humanitarian Action--sent tonight! Wahoo! (It's okay if I don't get it. I have a happy little Plan B. But I need to apply. I have to see. You understand.)

Letter of Motivation
By VeNicia Monet Green

"Our sympathy is cold to the relation of distant misery," penned the author, Edward Gibbon.

There is an immense amount of pain and suffering in the world. One doesn't have to go far past her own doorstep to see people afflicted with misery and agony, whether caused by man’s inhumanity toward man, natural disasters, or come what may along the twists and turns of the road of life. My heart is drawn toward those who suffer and yearns to do more than I have yet done.

There are many like me whose hearts ache for others amidst trials. We sit and watch the news of worldwide natural devastations and civil unrest; we watch reports and documentaries of the world's hungry, the aids orphans in South Africa, the child soldiers in Uganda, the genocide in Sudan, the unrest in Tibet. Some observe in apathy, though many of us express sorrow and empathy through earnest tears. Yet, most often, even those of us who are troubled by the scenes merely resume the regularly scheduled program or our relatively inconsequential tasks of the day. The average citizen lacks knowledge of effective solutions for change and utters listlessly, "But what can I do? I am but one. They are so far away." In the end, most of us remain unaware of the potential impact we hold for good with direct and concerted effort, or the detriment of our continual ignorance of these conditions.

Though I have contributed through service in my community throughout my life, and have given money to global relief efforts and charities whose causes I support, I have felt the urgent desire to seek out further education and experiences in practical methods of relieving the suffering of oppressed and afflicted people across the globe with greatest efficacy.

I have been blessed with more in my life than for which I could ever express gratitude. Unlike almost three billion of my brothers and sisters throughout the world, I live on more than $2 a day. Unlike one billion people throughout the world, I have enough to eat and a home in which to sleep at night. I have multiple pairs of shoes. I have a college education. I turn up my heat when I am cold and my air conditioning when I am hot, and drink from an endless supply of clean water from my faucet. I worship whom I choose, where I choose, when I choose. I say what I want, become what I wish, dream as big as I can. Opportunities knock and I have to be selective because of their quantity. My desire is not to indulgently revel in my relative extravagance, but to live a life of quiet simplicity, in humble recognition of the many blessings I enjoy. I aspire to live generously and compassionately in mindful service of my fellowman.

I am applying for a Masters of International Humanitarian Action because I have a voracious drive to give back with my life. I want to develop useful, practical, proficient skills in relief efforts for humankind. Gandhi said, "The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems." My heart tells me I am capable of more. I have an unquenchable desire to know what that is.