you're so lovely, are you lonely?

I cradled baby Lila, rocking her slowly. Her eyes were closed and her lips forcefully sucked the bottle of milk as though afraid it would be removed at any moment. Three quarters of the way through the bottle, she sighed and her arm involuntarily lifted until her tiny hand rested on mine. A tear rested beneath her eyelashes, a lone tribute to her earlier cries of hunger.

**

Babysitting is actually the best job in the world. You put the kids to bed and then get paid per hour to read/watch a movie/go online.

**

"You hate it when people just don't care about things." My professor, Dr. L, was telling me about myself after reading some of my opinion articles. "You just want to shake them up." He went on to describe me further, all settled statements, some accurate, some oddly off, all unsolicited. Still, it was interesting for me to hear an analysis from someone who barely knew me except through my writing.

**

In Los Angeles, I got around by bus which occasionally worried my roommates and friends. One night after riding the bus home with a guy friend who usually drove, I explained to him that the bus system was quite safe.

"Everyone I've spoken to says it's pretty safe. I've never had any problems, and there are always lots of people."

He looked at me. "Didn't you notice some of the people in the back? The ones who have no connections?"

No connections. No one tying them to a sense of purpose.

**

History class. 11th grade. It was a discussion based class, and our conversation had delved into what we wanted to do in the future. I announced that I wanted to make a lot of money so that I could use it to help the poor.

After class, the history teacher, Mr. J, pulled me aside.

"One of the reasons I teach is because I get to meet students who give me hope for the future," he said warmly. "You are one who gives me hope. Hope that things won't always be like this, that things will one day be better."

I felt like I had been knighted. Words are powerful.

**

Dreams From My Father:

" 'Don't you think, Francis, that sometimes Christianity not so good? For Africa, the missionary changes everything, yes? He brings...how do you say?'

'Colonialism,' I offered.

'Yes –colonialism. White religion, no?'

Francis placed the Bible in his lap. 'Such things troubled me when I was young. The missionaries were men, and they erred as men. Now that I am older, I understand that I also can fail. That is not God's failure. I also remember that some missionaries fed people during drought. Some taught children to read. In this, I believe they were doing God's work. All we can do is aspire to live like God, though we will always fall short.' "

– Barack Obama describes a conversation during a safari he went on with his sister.

**