The Three Goals

1. Take the LSAT.
2. Run a marathon.
3. Find a job abroad.

I had one year in DC and I had to use it wisely. So I came up with the three goals you see above.

In May I completed my one and only marathon. In June I took the LSAT. And in September I will move to Nablus, a city in the West Bank of Palestine. (For this to work, we will have to use the term ‘job’ somewhat loosely. If you define a job in terms of something you are paid for, then I failed at #3. If you define it as something to keep you occupied then I succeeded. And in the off chance you define it as something you love and that makes you excited to wake up every morning, then, well, I pretty much won.)

For the next year I will be an unpaid intern with Tomorrow’s Youth Organization, an apolitical, nonreligious nonprofit that provides academic and recreational programming to youth in Nablus. While it seems that everything related to that area these days is imbued with a strong political message or bias, TYO seeks to do one pure thing very simply—restore a bit of childhood to those who largely must miss out on one.

As an intern at a fledgling organization, I will be able to design and conduct my own programming with the youth and I will do so around two areas that were key aspects of my own childhood—dance and theater.

Over this past year I have managed to save the majority of the money I believe I will need on this journey. Now, with just a few weeks before I leave the country, I am looking to raise my last $2000. I am of course well aware of the global financial situation at this time, and that everybody is doing their best to be wise with their budget, but I assure you that a donation of just ten or twenty dollars would be an immense help to me.

Whether or not you decide to donate, I hope that you will keep up with me during my journey. I have no illusions about this; I know that this will probably be one of the most trying (and most rewarding) experiences I will ever undertake, and your spiritual support even from far away will be most appreciated. I hope that you will take the time to check in on my blog www.bietainpalestine.blogspot.com from time to time, where I will be posting updates, pictures and videos to chronicle my experience. And please also take a peek at TYO’s website (www.tomorrowsyouth.org) and blog (http://tomorrowsyouth.wordpress.com).

Thank you,
Bieta