Novelty of No Electricity

On Tuesday night, I was comfortably sprawled on my bed with my favorite TV show playing through my headphones when the lights in my room turned off.

And then on.

And then off.

And then I heard screaming.


At first I annoyingly assumed someone was playing around with the light switches in the house until K walked in using her cellphone as a make-shift flashlight.

"Looks like the power is out."


I peeked between our shades and saw that the entire street was pitch black. Some people had turned on their cars and were blasting music through their speakers while others started laying out blankets on their lawn to do some star-gazing.

I huffed, "It can't be long until they have it up again, right?" As I sat on my bed in the dark listening to all the excited screams and thumps from the electric music playing outside, I became rather pensive.

I was reminded of a conversation I had my freshmen year with a student from Nepal. He was an international student through a program specifically for students from Nepal who could not have funded their way to study in the United States. When I asked him what was the biggest difference between the US and Nepal, he thought for a moment before answering, "electricity"

"In Nepal, the area my family and I lived in, we would only have power for 3 hours. Sometimes not at all, so we had to get everything we needed to get down in that time, but here. Here you can turn it on any time." As he flicked the kitchen light on and then off.

As I remember this conversation, I was flooded with guilt. And then shame. I remember visiting parts of Mainland China before the recent economic boom and seeing children who were too small for their age due to malnutrition, begging for money in the streets. I remember meeting a toothless grandma who had no roof above her head and was never given any education so that she could write her name.  While I can not guarantee the specific welfare or well-being of every one in the world, it made me sick to my stomach that people was given less than what I take for granted. Everyday.

I was already getting antsy and inpatient with how long it was taking for the power to get back on, and it put into perspective for me how truly blessed I am to not only be born in this time where electricity was possible, but also in a part of the world that I had all the world's finest things and best opportunities laying at my feet.

So I shook my head at those out in the street celebrating the idea of a powerless 2 hours, how selfish we must be to turn up our speakers and whip out our glow sticks because having no electricity is a novelty when others around the world struggle to maintain their livelihood with what little power they have.

 But it's not enough to just lay in bed, pouting about the issues of the world, only to have your power and internet up and running in less than 2 hours.

It's silly, but significant experiences like these that make me realize that I can help. And that is why, more than ever, I need to study and work harder so that when the opportunities comes, I can do something about it.