Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Documentary of the Week: Half the Sky



[Source]

I recently watched a two part documentary series titled Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. This documentary is based on a bestselling book of the same name, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. I have not yet read the book, although it is now on my list of books to read, but I thought that the movie was amazing. Half the Sky discusses the oppressive circumstances that a huge number of women face worldwide, and shows ways in which some of these women are overcoming them. A-list celebrities, including Meg Ryan and America Ferrera, travel with Nicholas Kristof to countries where some of these oppressive conditions, such as forced prostitution, gender-based violence, and sex trafficking, are most prevalent. Watching this documentary, for me, was both heartbreaking and inspirational, and it really opened my eyes to some of the issues that women and girls face throughout the world, that aren't always as publicized, and seem oftentimes to be hidden, or hushed up. I am truly inspired by how these strong women are able to overcome such terrible experiences and use them to grow stronger and to help others. If you are interested in watching Half the Sky (which I would highly recommend), you can stream it on Netflix, as well as buying it on iTunes. For more information on the Half the Sky Movement, you can follow the link here.

Hello!!

Hello everyone, welcome to my new blog!

I already have two other blogs, about different topics, but I wanted to write about causes and changing the world, and neither of my other blogs really fit with this subject, so I decided to create a new one.

Since I was a child I have always been interested in helping others, whether they were people, or animals, or I was trying to save the environment. I've always loved being in the outdoors and I have always felt a certain connection to nature and animals. In the 3rd grade I couldn't read enough about wildlife rescue and dreamed of having my own rescue center in my backyard. I was a member of Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots program when I was in 5th and 6th grade, through which I was able to meet her, and I feel that hearing her speak and learning about her life had a huge impact on the way I view the world around me. Ever since, I've spent hours upon hours reading, researching, and discussing different causes, and have become passionate in my beliefs. I now work in an assisted living facility, taking care of the elderly, and at a local restaurant that focuses on using local foods and educating the public on growing and preparing their own food. My belief is that everyone can and should try to make a difference in the world, and that no action is too small, as long as you're moving in the right direction

Through this blog I would like to share information about different causes and organizations, and how to help them, as well as projects in my local community that I am working on, and ideas on how you can make a difference too.

Mahatma Gandhi said "where there is love there is life", and I believe that through showing love and compassion for the world around us, we can make this beautiful, wonderful world, a truly amazing place to live in.