Land Often and Land Softly

The world has offered me itself as a playground and I chose to explore it to the best of my ability. I have set foot on four continents, met hundreds, if not thousands, of interesting people (my apologies if I do not remember all your names), and done many incredible things. Every experience has shaped me; it has provided me with inspiration, or taught me a lesson. It has made me question the architecture of this world. With all the world has given me, I must ask myself: what will I give back to the world? What impact will I make?

Not too long ago I decided that I want to feed the world sustainably.

What does this actually mean?

Drastic transformations of our global world system, changes in transportation networks, the disassembly of capitalist systems, improved allocation of natural resources, decrease in waste production, (honestly this list could take up the entire blog).

I know my goal is lofty but intervening even slightly could significantly change someone’s life and therefore, I am willing to dedicate my life to this cause. I am not a person that is satisfied with just enough, nor am I someone that gives up easily. I have ambitious standards for myself and I am determined meet them.

Where to start?

I have a few ideas, namely the development of a model that starts with one country and is chalked full of cultural specificities, and follows with intervention through foreign policy. I want to approach the issue of food sovereignty through diplomatic measures and to begin I will be interning with US State Department Bureau of Western Hemispheric Affairs on the Political and Economic Affairs task team at the American Embassy in Asuncion, Paraguay (that was a mouthful).

The official description of my role is lengthy so I will skip to the interesting stuff – I will be working under Foreign Service Officials and doing more than just coffee runs (or refilling the water for terere because this is Paraguay after all).

Current location: 10,682 meters nearing the Miami airport.

About a week ago, I received an email that ended with “land often and land softly” and these words have been circulating through my mind ever since. While the person sending this email could have very easily meant ‘don’t die in a plane crash’ I cannot help but carry this message into what I am doing…

Land often: are you present? What are you doing and why? Have you checked in with your mother?

Land softly: what is your impact on the people around you? What are you doing for the world? Is it abrasive or gentle?

Paraguay, I hope you are ready for me.

Gotta blast.

Palacio de los Lopez en Asuncion circa 2016