Random thoughs of an emerging activist...

Although the cornfields and apparent lack of intelligent conversation with over tanned and over partied "Greeks" has been driving me crazy, I'm at least trying to look on the bright side. And what better than an AIESEC conference to lift my spirits. This past weekend was the @Illinois hosted Rowdies ROKS conference, complete with silly dances and powerful discussions, not to mention amazing people. But even more motivating than that has been a class that I by chance happen to have signed up for this semester. I've been lucky enough to have within the last year, two life changing courses and professors: Doing Business in Emerging Markets with Prof. Leslie Bergman in Vienna, and this semester's Media, Money and Power with Prof. Robert McChesney at U of I. Two very different classes but also ones that taught me more than I ever expected. What substantial knowledge did I gain? A few minutes is not nearly enough to go into details, but I'm sure I'll write more about it in the future. With Bergman's course, it was a humanitarian justification for my business degree. With McChesney's it was completely reevaluating my business degree. It's courses like these that change you, shift paradigms and ultimately change things.

There are so many thoughts right now, so many things that I'd like to say that I don't know where to begin...first: I've seen two incredibe documentaries Born into Brothels and Stolen Childhoods and I highly recommend both. Next: I highly, highly encourage everyone in the world (really, I mean this) to read these two books: The Problem of the Media: US Communication Politics in the 21st Century by Robert W. McChesney and Bad News: The Decline of Reporting, the Business of News, and the Danger to Us All by Tom Fenton. Third: Invisible Children is coming to UIUC!! Thanks to the initiative of Gwen in Colorado, I've become inspired and will undertake a similar project through @Illinois. More details soon... Finally: Do some good, buy local, organic and fairtrade. (www.responsibleshopper.org)

It was only a matter of time...