Snowpocalypse 2011

Officially, it is the third snow day of my college career.  The wind is raging; the ice is thick; and the snow just keeps coming.  Meanwhile, I am inside – warm as a snuggly buggly.  The weather channel says the wind is blowing upwards of 32 mph, and the snow is not supposed to stop anytime soon.  Looking outside, it doesn’t seem like the snow is our biggest problem; it looks more like the thick layer of ice coating everything is what is causing safety threats.  The ice, however, makes everything beautiful.  Yesterday Brendan and I walked around campus taking pictures of what everyone is calling snowpocalypse 2011.  Starting off, it didn’t feel too chilly, but the longer we were outside, the more I felt like my limbs were going to fall off.  By the time we made it to Brendan’s apartment, we were running, and I was fairly certain I did not have a nose.  Luckily, that was not the case; my nose is still on my face.  We warmed up by watching Lilo and Stitch with his roommates, eating dinner, and then watching Good Will Hunting.  I think the latter movie is one of my new favorites.  This morning, though, I woke up in a panic thinking about all the homeless people who don’t have a way of escaping from the blizzard outside.  Each time I hear the wind pick up, I feel an overwhelming amount of worry for them.  I’ve been thinking for a few months now that my new dream job after Teach for America is to start or run a nonprofit organization, but it’s been very difficult for me to funnel all my interests into one organization.  At this moment, I think I would like to help homeless people turn their lives around.  I think that would be rewarding, eye opening, and meaningful.  I would love to reunite people with their families, to help them quit addictions, and to get mentally ill people the help they need.  I know there are a lot of homeless shelters already, but I don’t think those shelters are meeting the needs of all the homeless people out there.  I think homeless shelters, like other nonprofits, need someone who is passionate running them, and I think I am just the person to do that.  If I don’t run a homeless shelter, I think I’m interested in helping refugees, immigrants, children, and/or the environment.  I guess that list isn’t exhaustive, but it encompasses everything I can think of at this moment.  Mainly, I just really want to help other people.  I want to make their lives more fulfilling and meaningful.  I want to make them self-sufficient so they are able to feel like they are contributing to society.  For as long as I can remember, people have been telling me I can do anything I put my mind to, and I have finally discovered what it is I want to do – I want to run a nonprofit organization.