Anyone who knows me knows that I find driving therapeutic and enjoy traveling quite a bit. I even enjoy traveling by car alone. This makes the jaunt to and from Indiana something that isn't even remotely impossible for me. Most of those who know me also know that I really enjoy listening to audio books in the car. I remember the first time I listened to a book on a long drive was in high school when I went to see my boyfriend at the time in Kansas City. I felt like someone was telling me a story and it kept me engaged instead of daydreaming and then running off the road. Ever since, I've been hooked!

The other thing is that I enjoy non-fiction more than fiction when I'm listening, which I think is the opposite when I'm reading (or they're at least in closer competition with one another). I've told quite a few people about the time I was listening to the autobiography of Nelson Mandela on my way out to my first interview in DC back in the beginning of October. I felt like a stereotype of myself, but I also loved it! Following my stereotypical trend, this time I listened to the book Half the Sky by my favorite NYTimes columnist Nicholas Kristof and his wife Sheryl WuDunn (they were the first married couple to jointly win a Pulitzer in journalism). The book was monumental - clearly showing the outrageousness of our current world and the ways in which women continue to be exploited in countless ways across the globe, but at the same time showcasing the alternative by shining a light on brave social entreprenuers who take highly oppressive situations and turn around to fight for women who are struggling. The individual stories of courage are paired with an in-depth look at how much potential lies in investing in women and bringing them to the forefront of our economies.

I cried so much when I was listening to this book. After four years of college and a human rights degree, I hadn't heard of fistulas before reading this book. Now all I want to do (after I complete my term of service, of course) is go work with women who have suffered from the terrible incidence and who have been stigmatized because of it. I feel like I'm pretty used to being inspired despite incredibly depressing stories that have to do with the violation of human rights, but this took it up a notch. Kristof is good at making me want to change the world and helping me realize the ways in which I can actually do so.

This book has helped me think about where I want to go next after all this. I realize that I just started this new chapter, so I should maybe slow down, but it makes me feel good to think about the way in which this experience I'm having now, which I have been hesitant to get pumped about, will fit into what I have set out to do with my entire life. Amen.