Now that I am old and grown {sarcasm}

I am now 20. Twenty years old, it's a funny age to be at.

No longer am I allowed to be irresponsibly immature without feeling like

I've done something terribly wrong. No longer can my actions be excused by

the common catchphrase "I'm a teenager."

I feel at the same time that I am so very young and so old as well.

From a child's perspective twenty is such an old age, but for people in my parents' generation, I am but a baby, kind-of. :)

This next decade holds many life changes for me I am sure.

Ten years ago I turned 10. I didn't think about what my next decade of life had for me.

But today, today I think about it.

What do I want to accomplish with my life? How will I accomplish these things?

These are heavy questions, but one that I must more seriously begin to deal with as a twenty-year-old.

Wish me luck! :)

What is my commitment to that which I follow?

Lately I have come to a lot more awareness on the subject of fair trade. I still have so much more yet to learn, but compared to what I knew my knowledge is growing. And the things I am learning scare me.

Five years ago, as a naive 15-year-old, I already knew that there were child slaves being forced to work in the sex industry in Asia. But now, I've learnt that there are more slaves today in the world than there ever were when slavery was legal, and that pretty much every facet of how the western world lives their lives is dependent upon either slavery, or sweatshop circumstances that are comparable to slavery.

That worries me. The fact that so many companies use labor given by underpaid, undervalued workers in 3rd world factories with deplorable conditions, doubled with the fact that I unconsciously support their bad working conditions by my consumerism is something I am trying to understand.

So basically.... a few days ago I found out that one of my favorite clothing stores uses sweatshops. I didn't know that before. So today, I am thinking..... what can I do to ensure that the money I am spending is being spent responsibly, that the money God provides for me doesn't go to support something that pains God's heart?

This issue of injustice is fast becoming one that is quite close to my heart. More to follow.

websites to check out:

www.free2work.org

this website gives an A-F grading of a few companies fair or not-so-fair trade policies.