It all starts with passion.

It all starts with passion and I have finally found what I am passionate about. My passion is making a difference in child welfare. And "the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step." I keep thinking to myself, "what is my first step?" I believe I have found my first step. I've applied to become a volunteer at an organization called, CASA (court appointed special advocates). Every step towards helping with child welfare is a step closer to what I want to do. How I can be a change maker. 

We always seem to think we know what's going on in the world. Going back to school after my mission has been a big wake up call. I've realized that I don't know squat. I've traveled to other countries and I might know a little about their culture but what do I really know about them? Almost nothing. I want to make a change but how am I supposed to if I don't know the facts? In a humorous but fact shocking Ted talk we find that we don't know what is really happening around us. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sm5xF-UYgdg) In this video Hans Rosling said, "The best way to know about the future is to know about the present." We all basically have this innate desire to help others. Its just who we are but how can we if we don't know what to do to make a difference. Almost all of us have heard the quote by Ghandi, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." Don't get me wrong, this is one of my favorite quotes but I've now realized we to need to KNOW to be the change. 

One thing everyone needs to read is the story of Tim Ballard. (http://ldsliving.com/story/78169-rescuing-children-from-sex-slavery-one-mormons-inspired-mission) He has found his passion and has coupled it with the gift and power of the Holy Ghost. Our Heavenly Father loves every single one of his children and he truly wants to see His children help one another. Tim Ballard is an amazing example of this. He says in his article, "Every child is precious. We can't solve this problem overnight, but by just saving one child, we can give them back the life that God intended for them." Every child, every person deserves a better life than abuse, human trafficking, poverty and we have the opportunity to make a difference. The spirit is key in this journey because the Lord will guide us in the direction we need to be. In a talk given by Silvia H. Allred in April 2011 she said, "Heavenly Father loves us and knows our unique circumstances and abilities. Although we seek His help daily through prayer, it is usually through another person that He meets our needs." He isn't here personally but he wants us to personally show the love He has for each one of His children. It all starts with one step. 

I want to be a change maker.

"Social entrepreneurs pave avenues of opportunity for those who would, otherwise, be locked into lives without hope." This week was a week of discovery. Everything I had to read and listen to has helped me form an idea of what I want to do in my life. I've always had the dream to make a change. I've realized that I want to be a change maker.  I want to work with the social entrepreneurial heroes of today. I don't have one great big idea to save the human race but I want to work to make this world a better place. That has always been my dream. Today listening to Rob Tonks you could feel his passion. One thing that I loved was when he discussed the fact that this movement is God inspired. We are part of this great generation and I couldn't help but think, "what am I going to do to help with this God inspired movement?"

When I first headed off to college I was trying to find a major that would fit with my passion. I wanted to find some way I could make a difference. Any major can make difference but I wasn't sure which way I wanted to go about it. I started with humanities, I enjoyed some of the classes but it wasn't my passion. After my second trip with an organization called Outreach360 I decided to switch my major to elementary education. Took one class and knew that this major wasn't for me. After returning from my mission in the Dominican Republic I found that my major needed to be Sociology and I did find my place in a certain major. What does this have to do with what I want to become? I want to make a difference, my passion is helping with education in underdeveloped countries and also help change the sex industry throughout the world. I've found that it will be hard but that through my major I can push to make a change and become involved. Even if I don't exactly know how yet. 

When I first heard of the word social entrepreneur I thought, "that's exactly what I want to do." Not even truly understanding what that meant. I'm not someone with one big great idea. The end of the article "Not Everyone Should Be a Social Entrepreneur" was exactly what I needed to read. "They needn't be founders of new organizations to have an impact on the world. But they should be founders of their careers." I've realized that I need to make a change with my major. I don't need to start up my own organization because their are a lot of others out their that have grown and are already pursuing my passion. Why not go in with m talents and be the change maker that I want to be? 

My passion.

I learned a lot of things, almost to the extent that I was overwhelmed by it all but it was worth every minute. I’ve never been told to fully embrace my passion and/or dream of working with or running my own non profit organization. Now I feel as if I can if I continue with passion and pursue with that same passion. One of the main things that first stuck out to me was the question, what do I desire? It made me really analyze what I want to do and what I will do to achieve it. The second lesson I found most valuable was “get out of your comfort zone.” I have always been a shy person and many times thinking to myself I couldn’t amount to anything. But the truth is I can and everyone can but we must get out of our comfort zones and take chances. And the last is, “it all begins with the first step.” If we sit around and keep thinking what I can do to make a difference rather than acting we will never take the first step. Also, to really think what that first step feels like, to know we are finally taking one step closer to our passion/dreams. 

Social innovation has always been my dream but I’ve never known how to accomplish it at such a young age. I felt trapped but at the same time not finding any interest in my previous majors. After switching my major a few times I stuck with Sociology because I do find passion in it but I also had the opportunity to hear about this class and my passion grew even stronger. With Jeffery A. Thompson’s question “What is your calling in life? If you don’t know yet, how will you find out?” I know that my passion is service and the fact that we can all make a difference in the world. The famous quote by Ghandi, “be the change you wish to see in the world” has always been my motto my go to inspiration whenever I feel small. I don’t exactly know what my calling is but I know that it involves social innovation, I know that involves me finding a way to make a difference and I’m willing to do whatever is necessary to find out what that calling might be. 

For me, I believe that the question “how do you fit into the world of social innovation” is a better question then “how do you want to fit into the world of social innovation.” Because we can’t just wait and hope that we can fit into our passions but we must be willing to do the necessary to actually fit into that world. Just like the 4 P’s in the Jeff Sheets video passion, pursue, persistence, and patience. We can’t go about our dreams in a passive aggressive manner because we may never reach them but be unhappily content with what we have now. Desire+Passion=Seek We must seek.