With education, all things are possible.

     Five weeks until the swim begins.  There is so much to worry about--will the wetsuit keep me warm enough, will my training pay off, will my Jeep survive, will there be places to camp,  will the kayak be made in time... The list goes on, but the preceding concerns are petty and irrelevant. 
     I know I am lucky to be one of the 5% of the world's population born in the United States, especially considering my stubborn independent nature.  It was lucky that I was born at a time that women could join the military (Viet Nam era veteran) and receive the GI Bill.  If not for the GI Bill, I would not have a college degree.  I was lucky my Dad was caring and compassionate enough to take custody of me and my siblings at a time when Dads rarely had custody.  And I was lucky to have a Dad that never said, "You can't do .....because you are a girl."  I played with dolls, jacks and jump ropes but also had the freedom to climb trees, build forts and roam the foothills of San Bernardino. (I was also lucky I never ran into Charles Manson's gang!)   I was also lucky to meet and fall in love a man secure enough with himself to let me be myself.  I am lucky. 
     Unfortunately there are too many girls in the world not so lucky. I read about them in the newspapers being buried alive for talking with boys, or being stoned to death for being raped, or only allowed to go to school if residing at a UN displacement camp during an armed conflict.  I see them on the news being sold into slavery or child pornography.  I see them in my classroom and in my neighborhood where there are an array of issues that keep them from going to school, getting a living wage job, or being a good role model for their children.  Some are physically abused; a friend flunked out of high school in lieu of attending class with bruises from  beatings.  Some are psychologically abused; I had a student drop out of college after her husband put a gun on the table between her and the door and said, "Go ahead--leave." She eventually did but without an education and dependent on social programs for support for her and her daughter.  Some are raped or molested; their confidence and self esteem squelched.  Some made mistakes and chose life, birthing  babies before high school graduation and now struggling with minimum wage jobs, child care, and dependent on social programs for food and housing.  Yes, there are fathers but according to the courts, last year those fathers were two billion dollars behind on child support payments.     
     There are so many destructive forces and no easy solutions.  The stories I hear from women and men are depressing, but there is hope.  And that hope is in education.  I am not so ignorant as to believe education will stop all the atrocities and bring an end to the need for social programs,  but I am optimistic enough to know that with education, all things are possible! 
    
swim on....mimi