Hope

I have a very depressing major.

It's become something we laugh about in my international studies classes; we come in with our coffee, bracing ourselves for more dismal facts and discouraging development failures. I get out of that and head to genocide class....woop de doo. I study death. I study exploitation and inequality. I analyze marginalization, gender-based violence, pogroms, civil wars, the ravages of unchecked capitalism, and the effects of centuries of colonialism. It's intense and sometimes I just think, "It's all wrong and there's nothing we can do. We're all just screwed."

But then there are speeches like Sam's. Simple, honest, genuine. A dedication to all things good, pure, and possible. There is good in this world, and as cheesy as it sounds on screen, we really do have to fight for it. Otherwise, this whole thing is pretty pointless.

There's a quote I'm madly in love with right now. "He who saves one life, saves the world entire." You can't focus on the huge, save-the-world picture...it's the small things, the details, the one life...that's what has to matter. That's where you'll find hope.

More on this later. It's almost 1am...and I have genocide in a couple hours.