The Ticker

At the bottom of this page, you will notice a countdown ticker.

I'll wait while you go look.

See?

Now, you might say, "Bethany, why do you have a countdown ticker? Does this mean you want your year of service to be over already?"

No. It doesn't mean anything of the sort. Maybe this logic is strange, but the ticker is to remind me how little time I'm really here for.

Tomorrow will be the end of my fifth week of service. Yes, I have done a lot in that amount of time, but still, five weeks are gone already. That leaves only 47 more weeks in which to change the world.

Ah, you say. You're setting your goals to high, changing the world in only 47 more weeks.

("Changing the world" here is an example of hyperbole. Dust off those English books if you forget this term.)

Still, there's a lot that can be done in the next 47 weeks. There's a lot that needs and should be done in the next 47 weeks. So much sometimes that it feels overwhelming. I only have to raise enough money to not only keep the building we have, pay salaries, fund events, and continue the program for the students we have, but raise enough to get more space, hire more staff and expand to serve more kids.

You know, no pressure or anything. It just feels like if I can't raise the money, more kids are doomed to be a high school dropout statistic. Again, a bit of hyperbole. But with a hefty dose of truth.

So the ticker. Just to keep me on my toes, really, and keep in mind what I'm here for. Even if it is short.