There are many things in life that I care about, but there few things that I get passionate about enough to write about to people I don't know. One of the things that I just cannot talk enough about is education. I believe that everyone who lives in the West needs to understand the absolute privilege and value of education.

I became passionate about education when I lived next to a family growing up whose children didn't attend school. I have no idea the reasons why or even the legal ramifications of the situation, I just know that they did not go and that they never learned how to read or write. I remember feeling really sad about this even as a little girl. Sad because I didn't understand why I got to attend school and learn all these things when they couldn't. And sad because I knew somehow that their lives would be very different than mine because they didn't have the opportunity for an education.

I have continued to be passionate about education because I have a deep belief that education is the primary thing that leads to freedom in the lives of people, families and even nations. If you think about it, many of the choices you make each day would not be in your life if you hadn't had the education that has given you the abilities you have. For example, take reading alone. What would your life look like if you were unable to read? Pretty different, huh? It is the education you've had that has taught you to read and hence opened up an entire arena of possibility for your life.

What does this mean for you? Well, if you're reading this article than the chances are that you've had the privilege of an education and that you are able to work. It also means that you need to take that privilege seriously and use it wisely. Think about ways of continuing to learn. If you aren't a reader, then that is my first suggestion: become one. Become a person who enjoys the privilege of education by reading and learning all you can.

Another great way that you can use your education to impact other people is to teach them. See what programs exist at local schools and get involved with helping children in their earliest years of education. See what kind of impact you can make on lives simply because you have had the gift of an education. Education is far too costly a gift to be taken lightly or wasted.