Sara in Singapore: A Global Citizen

Things are busy here. I've been working a lot. I'm really thrilled to have been working on the events and putting them together. First, Career Day for Girls. Girls came from different girl's shelters in Singapore for a presentation given by heads of different sections of the business world.

Each representative showed the girls what it takes to be what they want to be. We had different reps from a makeup company, a f & b association, Singapore Hotel Association, and a photographer. But these are some of Singapore's most knowledgeable people in these areas. Each of these girls want to be singers, dancers, painters, maids, hotel managers, executives, strong mothers, makeup artists, teachers etc and this helped open up opportunities for them. This event showed these girls how to use their minds and their hearts to get what they really want for themselves in a healthy, safe and authentic way.

It was a really wonderful day, really well-executed event and I was so proud of how everything went. The girls seemed to have learned a lot, really engaged in the presentations and the speakers were exceptional. It was a really great day!

My other event coming up is "Building the Emotional Muscle" by Saima Salman. So we'll learn the skills to remain emotionally stable and strong through stressful experiences and in this one evening, we will be able to master "getting stressed out", we will no longer have that feeling in the future. I really hope it works because who doesn't want to be stress free???

I just booked my trip to Cambodia. I am also going to Thailand and Malaysia. I'm going to be visiting brothels, speaking with and interviewing women, backpacking around these places and really exploring how breathtaking and historical these places are. I’m thrilled to be going! My trip to India as of right now, until further notice, is canceled. I decided that with all the research I've done, its just simply not safe to travel alone to India, especially as a young woman. I really took people's advice to heart and have decided that that specific trip will be saved until later on. Of course at first I was disappointed, but I know that I just wouldn’t be safe. And with my limited resources, I wouldn't even be able to see all of India that I want to see. But now, I get to go to Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia. So another door has opened, and it's still not all that safe, but a bit safer than India, closer, cheaper, but just as magical.

I can’t wait to really get immersed in the culture, the people, the smells, the flavor, the thick of the poverty and the horror of suffering but also the beauty of the nature and the people. As cheesy as it all sounds, it is true. That is how I feel. I leave for Cambodia in just a few days.

Last week, I went to the studio to record a song for this contest. Each song entered has to be about the environment. So the theme itself is a little cheesy, but we did it anyhow. It turned out really well and we actually won Top 10!! The 10 top winners get to perform in a huge concert here in Singapore and then the top three get chosen and then the winner receives money, TV coverage, performances around the world, MTV interview, all the works. But most importantly, each song builds awareness about the planet and issues with the environment. And so we did an acoustic track and its actually quite beautiful! FINGERS CROSSED EVERYONE for 1st place!!!

Other than that, myself and one of my co-workers, Minnie, are putting together another concert event for the STOP! Campaign (anti-sex trafficking campaign). I'm really thrilled to be running this with her. Auditioning bands, putting together the advertising, the marketing, the invites etc. Its quite fun and I've also been asked to perform there myself for that night. And since I've been collaborating with and wrote a song with one band here in Singapore, we'll be performing together!!

Even though this trip is alot of work, and my days at the office are tedious and long, I love it. And its events like these I get to put together that keep things really interesting. I feel like now, I've really created a life for myself here.

So, on to exciting news. I’ve been connected with the president of Loyola University in Chicago while I've been here. And I could potentially be sent to Rome to speak at a conference of theirs. I can't wait. And this is like less than a month from returning to Chicago from Singapore. And then from there, I'm going to Colombia to speak at a Youth World Summit. At both of these conferences, I'll be speaking to many people about volunteerism, my experiences of starting from nothing and then making something out of myself, traveling around the world with a lack of resources, marketing your work, etc. Basically, it's to empower Youth(Colombia) from all over the world and presidents of NGOs, Ambassadors and heads of corporations from across the globe (Rome) to either sponsor people like me, get started in what they want to do with their lives and to inspire those who are as passionate about making a difference as I am.

Seriously, job offers like these have been thrown at me left and right. I can't even believe it myself. I knew my life would be better than it was while at Marquette, but leaving Marquette was seriously the best thing that I could have done for myself. I am truly blessed. At this very moment, my life is rich with opportunity and I couldn’t really ask for more at this exact moment. I'm turning into a global citizen and the number of people coming up to me, wanting to work with ME, is baffling. I'm no one to boast or to gloat about my life, but I definitely know I'm doing what is right for me, because now I know who I am.

Since it was my birthday this weekend, my co-workers actually threw me a surprise birthday party! It was a complete surprise and I was totally taken aback by it. It was a really wonderful way to spend my birthday and share it with all the people at the office. So blessed to work with a really great group of people. All so incredibly talented and all so passionate about what they do.

Even though there's a lot going on here from meetings with President's of this, Executives of that, I'm thanking God for those contacts because they are enabling me to really shape my future the way I want. And the knowledge and advice I am receiving from them is just priceless.

Mind over matter. "Mind over matter" my yoga teacher said to me. Just let it go and relax. Mind over matter. " You can do anything in the world that you set your mind to. You are amazing, Moonchild" she says. "You are the one that is going to make a real difference in this world"

Well I'm off to a meeting with the President of Unifem and then going to see Transformers 3 tonight with Auntie Linda, Uncle Flip, Jackson and Izzy (linda’s niece) ... we'll see how it is!