The simple facts of life.

We are born. We live a life full of complexities, desires, pain, joy, intolerance, justice, faith, anger, compassion... You get the point. And then, with or without notice, we pass on. What's on the other side? Who knows?! What matters is what we make of the complexities, desires, pain, joy, intolerance, justice, faith, anger, compassion...

Every second that passes us by brings us one second closer to that ultimate truth. What can we do about it? Absolutely nothing. But we can do one thing to make it seem less morose: find a purpose.

Regardless of what that purpose may be, we all should find one that positively impacts the world. We all want to be remembered for the good things we've done... We don't want to be remembered as the one who snored the loudest, or the one who never picked up her trash. So what have you done that's really IMPACTED people? What's your story?

You don't have to have one now... But time's running out, and we should try to save as many moments as we can.

So do something. Something that makes someone else happy. Have a positive impact. Create social change. Perform a random act of kindness... But do something.

Wish is my something. What's yours?

<3 Naina

People who rummage through rubbish bins.

Hey all,

Just about a week ago on the street, I saw an elderly woman rummaging through my trash/recyclables for soda cans she could salvage and make money off of. I didn't know this happened in my neighborhood. As I backed out of my garage, I noticed through my mirror that she was smiling and waving to me... I waved back. My heart went out to her.

When I got home from work, I asked my parents if they'd seen her. My dad said he'd seen her several times. This wasn't the first time.

Hello, people, it exists! We don't normally think about it. I think a lot of people think I overdo the whole "let's stop illiteracy" thing, but how can one overdo that? Some people say I work too hard; others think my dreams are too big. Some people think I'm arrogant because I'm always preaching about Wish. At least I'm making the effort. I personally think that I can never do enough. Everything I do in my entire lifetime will never be enough.

Why is it so hard to convince people to do a good thing? Why is it so hard to get a few cents from someone who never uses those pennies anyway?

Everyone has their own dreams. Everyone has their own priorities, but why is it so hard to ask for a small amount of someone's time? We spend nearly a third of our lives sleeping... If we managed to decrease that third by a few hours, what would we lose? A question on a midterm? A percent on an essay? An hour's worth of pay even...

We're constantly running. We never get a break in life... And when we do, we look for other ways to occupy our spare time. But isn't it too late by that time? Yeah, we have more money by then... and many of us even have social statuses, but our best years are our college years. The world is our backyard. We have a plethora of resources and the forever-giving ability to take these resources to those who need them most.

I guess we're all people who rummage through rubbish bins. We look for petty things in a pile of trash. Those things do add up... But if you take away one or two cans, it wouldn't make a difference. We feed off our dreams and time. We spend so much time making our dreams our reality that we forget to see the dreams of others.

I request you to do this: the next time you're given a chance to make a difference, take it. If you have a midterm the next day, plan around it. If it takes up a few hours, do it anyway.

After all, we all rummage through rubbish bins of memories when we're older. It'd be nice to find a few collectibles in the trash, the worthwhile memories we make while we were running to catch up with our lives.

Sincerely,
Naina Singh

New blog.

Hey all,

I decided to change things up a bit and start a newer blog. The old posts are available in our archives, but I'm sure you don't want to spend hours reading my random rants. :) So, let's start anew.

Wish is working hard to get things rolling before fall quarter. If you'd like to get involved with our activities, send us a message at wish.ucla@gmail.com

Some things to look forward to this quarter:
-Rubio's Fundraiser (mmm... food.) -- 09/29/10 at 2 pm
-Wish's 2nd Annual School Supply Drive for Haiti/Colombia
-Starstruck: Wish's Annual Talent Benefit (in collaboration with several on-campus organizations; feat. some well-known stars)
-Wish Teach Program Apps
-Vibha LA Dream Mile 2010
-Community service activities: Reading to Kids with our Director of Community Service
-Race for Rice: monthly
-THE WISH TEACH PROGRAM TEACHING TOUR: Chennai, India

and more... Check out wishes.bol.ucla.edu for details on events! You can go to our calendar and see what we have in store!

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STARSTRUCK TALENT BENEFIT:

We are currently looking for competitors and guest performers. If you or anyone you know is interested, send Naina Singh (me) a message right away! We are expecting some very well-known people at this event, so who knows? You could be the next rising star!

7 competitors, 5 guest performers, 3 judges, 2 hours, and ONE winner. Starstruck: Wish's Annual Talent Benefit

In collaboration with Gawad Kalinga at UCLA and a few other organizations. The event is free, but donations are suggested. All proceeds will benefit the Wish Teach Program.
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Take care, amazing people. Remember... You can change the world! You just have to dream... and Wish.

Naina Singh