I am not normally a very political person, but with the debate last night I guess I made an exception. Normally Kevin and I agree on most things. But last night the fact that he doesn’t understand how absurd the idea of Donald Trump as president is came up again. He is vehemently against Clinton, and I get that, she’s not a great choice. But doesn’t being against her therefore make him for Trump? Not according to him.

First he says he’s not voting. After I tell him that’s a cop out, he says he’s voting for Jill Stein. So of course this turns into a huge argument, like, we are legitimately mad for hours. Because how could you think that a hot head that inspires hate and discrimination could be a good choice as president. Maybe if he had any sense of diplomacy or tact. He is a buzz-ward spewing megalomaniac with no clue of what’s up and what’s down. And of course, as our fight escalated, the mean statements started to come out. And I don’t mean to make it seem like it’s just coming from him, I might have said something along the lines of, “ignorant people like you are the problem.”

And while I don’t actually think MY boyfriend is ignorant (misguided maybe), I do think that ignorance is a major problem. I honestly think that education is the key to most of the world’s problems. Fear and prejudice thrive on ignorance. And Trumps campaign thrives on fear and prejudice. And this is the part of the argument, where the statement that really got to me came out. Kevin said, “how are you any different, what do you do to better anyone’s life?”

While this was said in a moment of anger, and he later apologized, he’s not wrong. What DO, I do? Yeah I am nice to everyone I meet. Yes I’m compassionate and empathetic to the plight of the less fortunate. Yeah I have a lot of ideas and opinions. But what difference does that really make without being put into action?

So I guess that made me pretty upset. I felt insignificant and like my life was a waste. A spent a big part of me day researching how to join the Peace Corps and went as far as starting an application that I would have never finished by the October 1st deadline (lol). And because many of the jobs through the Peace Corps were teaching jobs I started to again look at jobs teaching abroad. Until I stopped and realized that I would leaving everything behind, including the country that started this whole train of thought.

I also remembered my actual goals. Sometimes, when our goals seem so far away, they become intangible; it’s easy to forget the significance of them. It’s easy to get lost in the minutia of day to day problems and forget about the bigger picture. I have always (at least since 1st grade when it was documented on a poster), wanted to be in healthcare. I have always wanted to help people. And then, I had the epiphany that it doesn’t matter how big or small your contribution is or in what realm it lies. As long as it exists. Because this causes a chain reaction. By helping someone you inspire them to do the same. I don’t need to go to a foreign country and volunteer, I can make a difference anywhere.

I don’t even need to reach my final goal to make a difference. Even when I was an EMT I was making an effort to teach my patients about the preventive care they needed and how they could get it. Just those conversation made a difference, and it was obvious when I saw how thankful they were. A conscious effort is all it takes no matter how small. That is what I intend to teach my children and I hope that they teach their children and that eventually we can have a generation that is compassionate and less filled with fear and hate.