A Spoonful of Not Being a Victim

Sooner or later you have to face a rough patch--a trial or a consequence--that you had absolutely no way to prevent or that you in no way caused. My parents got a divorce. My friend Katie got hit by a driver on drugs. Hundreds of thousands of people in Japan had their lives turned upside down by the earthquake and tsunami that hit just two weeks ago. These things happen and you can't do anything to stop them.

Kind of a sad realization, isn't it? Yes and no. I think it is sad, and we must mourn our losses, but we have reason to hope. Things look up, but only if it starts with our attitude. That's why being a victim isn't an option. Yes, legally and technically we can be made victims, but our actions and our attitude can make us more than that. That's what I'm aiming for. Being a victim means you're helpless, there to be acted upon.

That being said, my internship program was cancelled. The Paris Chamber of Commerce wasn't able to place me anywhere. There are a lot of problems with that, having already bought my airfare and having already planned on not working spring, having told everyone that Paris is my destination this summer. So many problems, so many things to be upset with. I wanted to despair, I wanted to cry about it, but I didn't let myself because I knew that the best thing I could do was be hopeful. And you know what? The next day I found out that I could probably get an internship with a different group. A service internship, but an internship nonetheless, and in Paris. It's not finalized yet, but I'm hopeful. I think it will happen for me. And I basically have a place to stay. Which is better than almost anything. Good things happen when you're hopeful, when you refuse to be a victim.