Because I don't want to die and not know.

[Vivian Lam]

When people say that the world is in your hands, they’re not being entirely truthful. It’s something people say to you when you’re at a new” chapter” in your life and you’ve got so many potential opportunities available. But I’ve learned that the “world” they’re referring to isn’t THE world, but more specifically, YOUR world--- your job, your family, your country, your endeavors. It’s all about you and your world.I grew up sheltered. Whatever I wanted, I got. I lived in a nice house in a nice neighborhood. As a child, I naively thought that everyone lived like me, too. I had no concept of poverty or oppression; if encountered, they didn’t truly register in my mind. I underestimated the value of my wealth and freedom.I have family in Asia. The first time my dad took me to Vietnam, I was a baby. The second (and third and fourth) my dad took me to Vietnam, I was a child. But the fifth time my dad took me to Vietnam, I understood. Each country, person, place--- they all had their own history. Existing out of my own realm of awareness were people I had never met, places I had never visited and problems I have never perceived. These trips weren’t for vacational purposes--- as I had thought when I was younger, playing with my cousins in the streets. It was so that I could learn more about a world outside my own and appreciate the life I’ve lived.I used to never care for the news. Television was for entertainment, not CNN or MSNBC. The newspaper was only consumed for its comics. I was ignorant, only concerning myself with matters that pertained to my life; I guess as I child I was a bit of a solipsist.I read the news everyday now. I plan to travel the world. I volunteer for different programs. I talk to as many strangers as I can.WDYDWYD?Because life is too short to not know the world, and when I die, I want to know that I’ve learned all that I can about life.