this is mostly a reminder for me.

the internet is a strange place, isn't it?

it's great for staying connected to friends and family who live in different time zones (or even those who live across town that somehow you still never manage to see), searching for any information you could possibly need, or catapulting people or causes to stardom.

it's terrible for people writing horrible things to other human beings because they remain anonymous behind their keyboard, for the access to all sorts of sordid things (i maybe have been watching too many crime shows lately), and for a generation barely being able to communicate face-to-face anymore because most of their interactions now take place online.

but there's another negative that is cleverly disguised as good. it has to do with that whole raising awareness for causes thing.

on the internet everyone loves to jump on a bandwagon.

and then they promptly forget when the next bandwagon comes along.

because kony was a thing in 2012 and the ice bucket challenge is no longer the measuring stick of popularity there's no need to promote those causes anymore, right? wrong. those causes are still a thing. their publicity went away but the issues haven't.

jason russell, founder of invisible children (the organization that went after joseph kony and the lord's resistance army), recently said in an interview with relevant magazine that he feels like kony won. kony hasn't been defeated yet and there are still children being captured and being made to be soldiers. it's still a problem.

remember those girls who were taken in nigeria by boko haram? maybe #bringbackourgirls will refresh your memory. that was already a year ago. do you know what happened to them? do you know how the story ends? do you care?

i think it's so great that people want to help other people. i really, truly do. but it can't stop with posting one thing about it on facebook and then only posting cat videos until the next "charity fad" comes along. i get it, dumping ice on your head gets you a lot of likes and makes you feel a part of something but have you thought about the people living with ALS since that day?

instead of thinking you're doing good in the world because you posted something that elicited an emotional response (i.e. comments like "that's so sad!") from your followers, get out there and do some good.

find a cause you believe in and put your time and money into that. it's not that those other causes aren't important but you'll put so much more effort and care into it if it's something you're passionate about. and here's the biggest kicker, it doesn't even have to be something that's super cool at the moment. it really doesn't!

maybe you have a heart for sick kids and their families, go volunteer at a children's hospital! maybe the tragedy of human trafficking makes your stomach turn and you can't take it anymore, give money to organizations that are on the front lines of combating the issue of people selling people (IJM and NightLight to name a couple)! maybe you're passionate about rescuing abused/neglected animals, foster some for the local humane society!

whatever it is, educate yourself about it and really understand the role you can play to make it better. it's going to take more than one facebook post (or blog post for that matter) to really make a difference.

xo