The Path of Philanthrophy

Ah Ha!! So it’s that time of the year again. Hoards of new faces would be streaming into the campus - the bus stops, the subway, the library , the parking lot and even the red route bus. Experience having made me wiser, I thought I could afford to dole out a little advice to the new-bies. (Who doesn’t love “giving” advise : )? ).

I recently came across an article which listed out the top 20 ways to stay happy. Getting richer than your peers was one of them – ah – if only things were that simple! However, philanthropy and “trying out new things” also figured on the list. I have always regretted not having had enough time for both philanthropy and experimenting. If you are a new-comer, here is something you could do at U of H - to - you guessed it right – to stay happy! I have done some of them myself- with – should I say – “resounding success” :)

• Enroll for free Salsa dance classes. They are held both at the recreation center and the cougar den once a week.
• Join “Cougar for kids”. I saw a guy sporting the “Cougar for kids” T-shirt. Trust me. From the look ron his face, I am sure it was worth the volunteering efforts.
• Buy a 35 dollar guitar or any other musical instrument of your choice and enroll for a course. At the end of six months, you would be a ‘certified’ and also ahmmm… hopefully a good entertainer. The catch here being that, you would also be poorer by 1000$ – 1500$.
• Join AID – Association for India’s development.
• Participate in marathons – the regular rush of fresh oxygenated blood to you head might do you some good in the long run :P
• ‘Pratham’ holds small fund raising events every 3 months or so. Volunteer in it.
• Register for donating your Bone marrow – you will be surprised how simple the process is.
• Learn Turkish for free for 3 hrs on Tuesdays – for all you know, you might one day see yourself at an Indian restaurant with a Turkish date. ( ‘Kind old lady experience’ tells me that’s a far-fetched idea though…)
• And last but not the least, Houston – it seems, has a separate season set aside for it – the hurricane season! Pray for a few hurricanes...and when the hurricane arrives, stop, take a deep breath and then move around effortlessly as the world around you comes to a mesmerizing stand-still.

Anyways, here’s the original article that I referred to earlier:

Ok, so how about starting your philanthropy sessions by advising the next person you come across? If you look closely, I just did that : )

-Sandeep Bellure