Japan

Everything that's happened in Japan is just devastating. First one of the highest magnitude earthquakes ever recorded, then a tsunami, and now the extremely dangerous radiation continuing to spread from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Everyone in the US and around the world is freaking out, thinking that the radiation might come too close to where they live, but they don't seem to realize how this is really affecting Japan. Workers are unable to fix the power plant because it's too dangerous, so now things can only get worse. The people that lived too close to the power plant had to evacuate and will probably never be able to come back to their homes because the land is permanently contaminated.

All of this hits close to home for me, which is part of the reason I'm taking the time to post this. My cousin married a woman from Japan last summer. Ryan and Itsumi live in Colorado now, but they spent a whole day trying to reach her family after the quake. Fortunately, they live south of Tokyo, so they weren't too badly affected, but millions of other people aren't so lucky.

So if there's any way you can donate, or beg a responsible adult to donate, please do. It takes a lot to rebuild a nation, and every little bit helps. It's as easy as a text to one of the support organizations. Just make sure it's not a scam first :) I promise my next post will be happier :)