If You're Not Going To Clean Your Room...

Don't complain about not being able to find anything. If you're not going to exercise, don't complain about being out of shape. If you're not going to try to be a part of the solution, do not complain about the problem.
When I left Seattle I was fed up with the status quo at home in the states, frustrated and looking for an alternate view of the situation. I was big on complaints and non-existent as far as taking any real action to address any of the problems that were frustrating me. I crossed an ocean hoping to gain a new perspective of said issues, assuming that seeing them from the outside would offer up some sort of answer. Listening to the ideas, assumptions and opinions of the residents of Belfast concerning America, Belfast and life in general has been eye opening and educating for me. I've been open to anything that anyone has had to say to me and I've had no problem letting the occasional jab roll off my shoulders. Before I left, I mentally prepared myself to hear a good amount of negative opinions about America from people in Northern Ireland other parts of Europe. However, I was the opposite of prepared to hear it from a girl from Seattle. After a two week trip through Holland and Germany, constantly hearing was how "awful" the states were and how much better everything in Europe was, I literally turned into a redneck, flag flying, Team America member. It was shameful, and even now I don't know why I got so defensive. The whole time we were traveling I just wanted to remind my friend that it must be nice to be born an American where just by being born we have been gifted more rights and privileges than any other person in the world, hence being able to country hop in our 20's. I regained my senses upon my return to Belfast as well as a new outlook on the states. After listening to the barrage of complaints about all the problems in America and not hearing one proposed solution, I got alarmingly motivated to come back and start working on solutions myself. It was much more intriguing to me to flee my own country with the admirable goal of helping the rest of the world, but it's equally as important to stay and try to fix what's broken within my country. There is a lot that is wrong with the US at the moment but I don't think it's fair for me, along with the rest of Generation Y, to complain without taking any action, especially when we are of the perfect age to do so. I'm no longer a constitution waving NRA member but I have decided to focus my energies back home instead of leaving and assuming someone else will do it.