education, the Bill of Rights and loyalty

Finally, I not only feel like an American, I am proud to be an American. Not because I necessarily like what our country now stands for abroad; not because I always seem to be saying, "In the States, we..." or because I miss Madison and DC and my family and friends; not because I am perceived to be an American by many people here. I am beginning to appreciate how ridiculously fortunate we are. To grow up in a country with freedom of speech, where a petty criminal can't be deported for a small offense, where our decisions are made by a [somewhat] democratic process, where I can elect my representatives in government, where I have a choice of world-class Universities and I can pick any major in the world and choose any career I desire, and where I can do all those things while being an autonomous female. It is not necessarily doing those things that I appreciate, but the system that allows it to be so.

I also have found a fierce loyalty to AIESEC US. I am the only one that knows the @US system here, and I'm surrounded by people that are close with AIESEC International. Although there are flaws with both the AI and @US systems, I defend the US when it's unjustly criticized and I do my best to set the record straight. I had no idea that I had that kind of loyalty for the organization, especially in light of the realization that @US failed in its responsibility to teach all its members about the policies and recent changes of its parent organization [like how many people know about the Rae group-AI lawsuit? How about the AIESEC 2010 goals? The fact that AI focuses on leadership development, while @US focuses on exchange?] and despite the fact that I feel somewhat abandoned by the organization, which pledged such strong support to me and the Qatar team in New York City only two weeks ago.

So here I am, in Qatar, learning new things about myself and about the world and changing the lives of people every day. I can't imagine a better first real job.