On Sept. 20 a group of students attended a Greg Mortenson lecture at Sacred Heart University.  We left for the lecture around 5 p.m., and slowly progressed through traffic on the Hutchinson River Parkway and Merritt Parkway to the University.

As I sat in my seat, I was unsure as to whether I should be excited by the idea of seeing Mortenson speak or skeptical of his accomplishments and words.

I had recently finished his book “Three Cups of Tea,” and I was awed by the time and dedication to a group of people that have been treated poorly in recent history by most Americans.

After attempting and failing his climb of K2, a mountain range that borders China and Pakistan, he came across a village called Korphe in Pakistan.  While recovering from his injuries, Mortenson saw children learning in a field without an instructor. They were writing things in the ground, and studying alone. Mortenson learned that the instructor had to split his time between two villages because the village did not have enough financial support to hire an instructor specifically for their village.

Ultimately, this visit would change his life, and lead him down a path of attempting to build a school first in Korphe, and then other villages of Pakistan and Afghanistan.  The road to building these schools was never an easy one, and Mortenson sacrificed his family and time to these villages and peoples.

I’ll admit it – if it weren’t for Honors 320, I probably would not have picked up and read “Three Cups of Tea.” I have always considered myself too busy for light reading, and I dismiss books that do not grab my interest.

Yet the fact remains: this book is a worthwhile read. It gives the average American a glimpse into the lives and realities that these people face everyday. We take it for granted that we have public school systems, infrastructure (although it is certainly not perfect), and easy access to basic commodities needed to live.

Most of us in the greater New York area have never dreamt of having months off at a time for school to plow fields. We have also never dreamt of having time off for school simply because it was too cold to hold classes, and the school lacked a proper heating system.

Most students, with exceptions, begrudge having to attend classes daily during the week. They complain when the room is too cold in the winter, and they complain when the room is too hot in the summer. They sit on their mobile devices, and text all class long. They sit on their laptops, and update their Facebooks all class long.

While I am generalizing, I am certain that everyone reading this knows someone that does this all class long, or sits near the one person in class who has their laptop out and talks on some instant messaging device all class long.

Listen, we are not perfect. We are at the prime point in our lives when we are changing and figuring out who we are. It is easy to be consumed by the constant need to talk to others or socialize.

As a community, we should learn to accept that the college we attend is not perfect. Yet, we are greatly privileged with easy access to information, heat, running water and top-of-the-line technology.

Next time you think of pulling your phone out in class, remember the children Mortenson saw on the side of the road, and maybe you will put your phone away and pay attention to the lecture.

To contact The Ionian’s Heather Nannery, e-mail her at [email protected].