A Second Life, A Second Chance

Finished Reading: Shunryu Suzuki Roshi
Currently Listening: The Rolling Stones, Paint it Black


A new life can be a second life, and could also be a second chance to get things right. But with second chances and a reincarnation of life, what naturally arises is a whole realm of uncertainty. Questions begin to rise-- is this life actually real? Is this mentally and physically healthy? Will things change now? Or maybe the past life was actually better? Whatever this new life is, it's here, real or not, this Second Life is virtual and is located over There.

Virtual Worlds are on a rise, a place where interactivity takes form in the shape of typed conversations, broken voices, shared fantasies, creations, economics, and adventures-- all of course in the virtual form. Some say it's here to stay and that it will be an economic power house since Fortune 500 companies have invested, but others like myself, just say it's a trend.

Wanting to unplug from the web as much as possible, things naturally came the opposite as I was forced into a virtual world and discovered it as a new medium of communication. And being in the communication business, my goal and 15 others were to create an Environmental Outpost located in There.com. Our theme was taking on the task of generating awareness about Electronic Waste, an issue often ignored or "greenwashed" to the public.



My Graphic located in the University of There


So what I discovered was our E-WASTES, our TV's, Cell-Phones, and other electronic junk are being shipped over to China, Congo, India, and the Philippines so poorer people can dismantle them improperly damaging themselves and the environment. I guess what makes me think, (something I hate now being a 7 year undergrad) is how a virtual campaign would solve anything. Similar to most issues I have taken on in the past from Racism, Sexism, Environmental Justice courtesy of WALC, Freeing Political Prisoners, and Stopping Unjust Wars...

I find that creating the message just isn't enough anymore, and I'm starting to find that relaying a message through-- a video, a photo, a word, a graphic, and not seeing a change of any sort can be very disheartening. I just hope that virtual worlds, which is slowly generating a real economic structure, and an academic environment will somehow make a real impact in real life.

*Is it too strange to think that the reincarnated virtual versions of people will somehow make a positive difference in the real world?*