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I accepted this challenge with a grain of salt, thinking: Challenges are silly and cheesy. Faux inspirational. But in reality, this feels a little like school (the better parts of it). I have a schedule (that I control!), drafts to turn in, and I know someone else will be reading whatever I write. Sounds pretty handy.

Prompt 3 of the Live Your Legend writing challenge asks: What do people thank you for? Also, what do you love helping people with? What would you be happy and excited to help others with even if you didn’t get paid? These questions are to get me thinking about the things I’m best at.

Things people thank me for. The list is pretty short. Yikes.

1. Listening. Sometimes, people need to vent. And when I’m nearby, I usually let them vent to me. It’s a symbiotic relationship: they need someone to talk to, and I want to feel needed. Plus, I like when someone walks away from me feeling even a tiny bit better.
2. Inspiring them to travel. This gets me excited. I love talking about travelling, and I love telling people my travel stories. I especially love the part at the end of the conversation that goes something like this,
   Person: Wow, Eva! You’ve done so much! I wish I could travel.
   Me: Where would you go if you could?
   Person: I’ve always wanted to go to Greece. 
   Me: Greece? You can do that. Easy. 
   For me, talking about travelling is akin to taking shots of espresso. I feel so energized. Remembering all the amazing experiences I’ve had, all the possibilities my future travels will bring–all these things make my brain happy.
3. Helping proofread. I have a friend who exchanges poetry with me. We help each other proofread, brainstorm, edit, suggest, la la la. Editing with her puts me into hyperfocus. Nothing else exists, not even time. Only the work. This is what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls flow.

Now, I will demonstrate the simple magic of merging all the things you love to do into one, Super Dream Career.

Ready?

 

Traveling storyteller. Like Renate Stoller in Nancy Drew.

Look at that chair. That face!

That could be me.

 

Today, I was given the prompt: what makes you really angry about the world?

Ha! So much. But let’s focus on one major issue: The environment. I hear all the time that it’s a complicated problem. Politics are involved. Where will the money come from? Climate change isn’t even real. 

Climate change is real, you idiots. You FOOLS. And the world has the technology to combat the issue.

Here’s what’s happening:

Earth: Hey, Humans. I can’t breathe. Can you stop destroying me? I’m dying over here. I have a fever. I’m cold in places I don’t want to be cold in. I’m hot in places I don’t want to be hot in. If you could all be a little nicer–

Humans: Your problems aren’t real. 

It’s so easy to be better to the Earth, and you already know how. Eat less meat, recycle, don’t buy plastic water bottles ever again, don’t drive gas-guzzlers, etc. SO EASY. Easy on an individual scale, that is.

What about big corporations? From where I stand, at the bottom of the pit, in the dark abyss, the top companies in the world are all about $$$.

When did greed become the code for modern society? Who the hell is at the very top of the corporate food chain going over the books, saying NO to solar, NO to wind, NO to more sustainable products? People are still going to buy shit. It’ll cost a bit up front, but you jerks have the money. Just fucking do it.

Jeepers creepers, guys. I tell ya.

What about you? What makes you angry about the world?