c:

I, like many people, wanted to do something tangible and practical to help certain causes in the world. I wanted to make a huge impact; something astronomical. But I recently realized that I, like most people, don’t have things like nonprofit leadership experience; business savvy (helping people through helping to make available good-paying jobs–rewarding types of things–and other opportunities); or any aspirations for political office. Or anything similar. And so the most I can do is utilize the creative/vocational skills I have towards helping the causes that matter to me. I can utilize my practical vocational skills towards helping causes that are dear to me. For me, this means using the photography, videography, writing, and illustration work that I am already inclined towards in service of the causes that are most dear to me. Some of the causes I care about are (socio)economic development, severe mental illness and its management/treatment, domestic violence, social isolation, and a couple other things. | I know some people might think that helping in whatever way you can, utilizing your skills and passions towards good causes, is bound to be trivial and ineffective in the grand scheme of things. But this mentality suggests that the only service worth doing is large-scale and highly effective labor; the kind that impacts the greatest number of people in the deepest ways. I think that that type of work often requires some previous knowledge or experience with the issue(s) at hand. It’s a great option for people who happen to have that insight and that proven experience. But I think that for the majority of people, they can only give of what they have, at the moment; and that’s ok too. Some people are meant to be at the front line; some people are meant to be in the middle line. Some people are meant to be in the back line/behind the scenes. Everyone’s important; everyone’s doing a wonderful job.

ty**. -merry christmas.