About ‘The New Humanist’

“…whoever you are, whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it’s because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It’s your mission on earth. To realize one’s Personal Legend is a person’s only real obligation.” – “The Alchemist“, Paulo Coelho

::What Is This? The New Humanist is simply a way of combining three of my greatest passions: travel+culture, conversation, and the intrawebs, into one channel through which I can tap, share, and outlet all that I believe to be the right hand of the universe: creativity and humanity. This is how I intend to document my travel and academic adventures and the meandering thoughts that accompany them, inviting anyone interested to join along with me.

::Who Are You? Certainly depends on who you ask. Mom and Dad would say that I am the daughter they gave birth to in Bryan, TX, and raised in College Station, TX. I’m the child who insisted on a liberal arts education, from which, since my departure, they have received phone calls about once a month. Behind my back, they whisper to their friends that I’m a ‘free spirit’, ‘doing the Lord’s work’ or possibly fulfilling contractual obligations with Blackwater. My high school friends would probably say that I was unrestrained and shamelessly blunt; while they were busy hurdling a 3.9 GPA and limbo-ing a strict midnight curfew, I experimented with spirituality and ‘traditional values’, among other things.

For the first years of college, I was the “girlfriend”.  Having ended my last relationship in college—I wish I could say for the purpose of trying to figure out who we were as individual human beings—when we finally separated and I attached myself, instead, to this question, I looked inside and with gut-twisting fear, encountered total silence.

I set about the small task of getting the hell out of dodge. I found the furthest point from Texas and thus, with backpack on, fled to Khon Kaen, Thailand. There, there was no need for me to dwell in a past when my present managed to match in adventure and excitement (which I consider the ultimate “trick” to living in the present moment, as counterintuitive the idea may be). And although my arrival back in the States (six countries later) was safe and without major complications, it wasn’t without slight and expected turbulence.

Now with more clues as to what excited me, I was faced with very hefty student loans that needed my immediate attention upon graduation. I decided to give myself one year. Loans are terribly overrated. In October of 2007 I applied for a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship that would allow me to travel in a country of my choosing (originally my choices were Kenya, Pakistan and India) for at least a year and serve as an ambassador from the United States on issues of humanitarian aid, service and diplomacy. Currently living and working in Austin, I will leave July 15, 2009, for Kolkata (Calcutta), India…

::What is Rotary International and What is an Ambassadorial Scholar? Rotary is a worldwide organization of more than 1.2 million business, professional, and community leaders. Members of Rotary clubs, known as Rotarians, provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. There are 33,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas. Clubs are nonpolitical, nonreligious, and open to all cultures, races, and creeds. As signified by the motto Service Above Self, Rotary’s main objective is service — in the community, in the workplace, and throughout the world.

Ambassadorial Scholarships, the Rotary Foundation’s oldest and best-known program, was founded in 1947. Since then, nearly 38,000 men and women from about 100 nations have studied abroad under its auspices. Today it is the world’s largest privately funded international scholarships program. Through grants totaling approximately US$500 million, recipients from about 70 countries studied in more than 70 nations. The purpose of the Ambassadorial Scholarships program is to further international understanding and friendly relations among people of different countries and geographical areas. The program sponsors several types of scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students as well as for qualified professionals pursuing vocational studies. While abroad, scholars serve as goodwill ambassadors to the host country and give presentations about their homelands to Rotary clubs and other groups. Upon returning home, scholars share with Rotarians and others the experiences that led to a greater understanding of their host country. I am funded + sponsored by Rotary District 5910 and hosted by Rotary District 3291.

::Why do you travel? I think everyone in this world has a dream – an inkling, a suspicion, a hint of hidden passion, an intuition – of something really great they could do with their life; of something that would be the catalyst not only for their individual evolution, but also a catalyst to ignite the catalysts of countless others towards a widespread movement and cumulative revelation.

Most people ignore this seed of personal potential: Bury it too deep in denial. Ignore it, giving precedence to matters of feigned importance. Maltreat it, in an effort to keep it contained. Plead ignorance for fear of its potential. Whatever the excuse, most people on this earth live with their true potential forever haunting their heart.

So why do I travel? Simply put: I believe there is more than one way to experience life. And, while some fancy yachting, others billiards and even, Bordeaux wines, I love culture. There’s a river of people who run right by…

And finally, I’ll just say this and leave it be: Like every dream of right intention, I travel to keep my heart ablaze and to set fire to the hearts of others. Like the best of dreams, mine is not only a goal, but a tool via which other dream seeds are dug, exposed, and held up before the noses of others who knew it was there, but couldn’t quite find or see it. So many have taught me how to care for mine; how to find it, develop it, care for it, believe in it and take those first steps towards achieving it. I’m paying it forward in small handfuls.

I’ve heard that our society is shit and, at the same, manure. And I think this is true. Perhaps our current condition is quite rotten – but at exactly the same time, it is also ripe for change and growth. And I have interlocked fingers with some of the most extraordinary few ready to accept the dirty work of tilling that land. And it becomes easy to see the dream when it is yours as well.

Our lives are so unique and such intricate mysteries to be explored. I’m not sure how we can live with sunrises and sunsets and stars and not wonder the big questions that such visions inspire. But I really think these questions should be pondered, individually and with each other. Because they are the most important questions in life and I have a hunch that anyone who asks them, will come, through their own unique path, to the same conclusion. And this conclusion is the answer to most of our (humanity’s) problems. So I guess my message is to engage your sense of wonder and think creatively with your life path; it’s your own to create and color.

::How can I contact you? I can be reached via email at thenewhumanist[at]gmail[com]. And although I am soon to be thousands of miles away, know that behind this glowing screen is a long wire connecting me to you and my words are crossing continents and oceans.

Thanks for embarking on this journey with me.