District President's Meeting

I went to the District 9750 President's meeting a few nights ago. My two friends (and fellow Ambassadorial Scholars) are wrapping up their time in AU and gave some amazing speeches. It blows my mind how gifted some people are. And how SMART. Geeze. They are both focusing their studies on human/social rights (sorry I can't recall the exact titles), and their perspectives on justice is inspiring. Who doesn't love a person who's out to make the world a better place?

Some observations I made during the meeting were:

1) I find it ironic to speak about social justice over a fancy meal.

2) Australian humor is quite dry. Someone told me "If someone keeps making fun of you, feel honored. That means they like you." The District Governor, Glenn Wran, was really poking fun at the scholars before they came up to speak. Like, a lot. But I know he really admires them and supports them. I think showing affection through playful banter is also ironic, in a way...

3) I have often felt overwhelmed by a sense of "Does ANYone else in this world care about anyone else but themselves!?!" But I see individuals' passion for peace and love in the world spark up every now and again, especially at meetings such as these. You can see it in someone's eyes, when they truly want to make a difference, versus just wanting to gain recognition for how many good deeds they're doing. We can't allow the voices of truth to be drowned out by the world's excuses. Period.

Below is a picture of the Scholar group. Left to right: Me, Cathrine (Scholar from Europe), Elizabeth Michard (Scholar Committee Chair), Frank (Scholar from Germany), Frank Lowe (Scholar Committee Chair), Seye (Scholar from Nigeria) and Rosi (Scholar from South Africa).