Sometimes, I feel like a cow.
No, I'm not one of those whiney girls who are never satisfied with their weight, and I only have one stomach instead of four. Farmer John does not milk me on a daily basis, and I pass on cud as my meal of choice.
Sometimes, I still feel like a cow.
As I've moseyed across campus to one of my classes, the feeling of being stuck a herd of students suddenly hits. I lift my head, look around and a sea of tanned bodies with strange faces shocks me. Then, I think about how, at the same time last week and the week before that, I prodded along in the same way-doing the same thing, with the same strangers surrounding me. And then, depression hits. I realize there is a whole world out there, waiting for me to ditch my routine, charge head first into Farmer John's fence and bust out of this pop stand.
I want to quit mindlessly heading from one day to the next, and I want to be reminded there is more to the universe than the MU, this dingy basement I call my office and Mill Avenue. This week's photo story by David Lukens (pages 6 and 7) smacks me over the head with that opportunity, and hopefully, it will do the same for you.
Instead of packing his Speedo and heading down to Rocky Point or Cancun for spring break-well, maybe he took his Speedo-David cast away his routine, flipped off Farmer John and took his camera to Haiti when the country was at a height of instability. He snapped photos of rebels, hungry children and captured the essence of another culture through his pictures.
Some people in Haiti have not eaten for weeks and more than a quarter-million people in the country have no where to go. Some might consider David's trip to Haiti stupid, but I consider his adventure and the work he brought back a service. Seeing his pictures and reading his story will help get rid of the cow-feeling we all experience once in a while.
After absorbing David's story, try to pick up a New York Times or visit cnn.com on a regular basis to remind yourself there is life outside of the farm.
Sometimes, I read something or hear something that reminds me I'm not a cow. You can too.
Reach the reporter at spmag@asu.edu.
