Hello everybody, this happens to be the third post in my series of 'Imagine if...' posts. Essentially they are just my ramblings and my thoughts on a particular topic. It may not overly interest you because some of the possibilities I discuss are in fact real-world impossibilities, but there's no harm in discussing them anyway. Why poverty, you may ask? Well, I understand why you're perturbed because within the previous two posts, I have discussed things that are quite frankly impossible. However, this particular post discusses a subject that poses a very real threat to the world and is a task that so many charities and organisations are trying to complete. Unfortunately, it's a lot easier for me to sit here and write about it, than it is to actually put some work into progress to ensure the eradication of poverty. One of the major problems is that poverty hasn't just been a recent development due to the rapid development of some countries in the world, it has been present for several decades, even centuries, even though it seems a problem of the 'present'.

Poverty is a difficult topic because it has so many different sections. Primarily, however, I think it's due to a lack of education and more importantly, a lack of access to education. I think we take it for granted just how lucky we are to have a readily available education system, which gives us more opportunities and prepares us for the life ahead of us. Unfortunately, there are several adults and children alike that simply do not have the access to any form of education that will ensure a good future for them and their family. Yes, I know, maybe it's because they can't afford it, but that relates back to their parents and their lack of education. I suppose what I'm trying to say is, that it's all a vicious cycle, which we can help to break. Education can be an important stepping stone out of poverty for many people. I know everyone is stereotypically thinking of the poverty-stricken families in Africa, but poverty is far more widespread than any of us could imagine.

Along with the lack of education, there are so many other factors that can contribute to the extent of poverty. Obviously illness, starvation and eventually death are major issues that leading charities in the world are striving to eradicate. I wonder whether we'll ever get to a time when everyone on the Earth has access to clean water, the necessary medicines (especially vaccines, as highlighted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) and enough food to sustain a healthy lifestyle. I'm going to make a wild guess here (and please, statisticians out there, I would like you to prove me wrong) and say that complete eradication of 'poverty' as we know it may never be achieved within my life. I try to be an optimistic person, so I'm going to hope and wish that it will be achieved at some point in the future. It's just that the way the world is heading, the prospect seems unlikely (I know, how depressing and pessimistic). The problem is, that I want to help as much as possible, but everything has to be done in moderation. Additionally, I think it's important for this to be a collective goal, because eradicating poverty on your own can be very daunting, so raising money and awareness with others always benefits the cause.

Just in case I haven't hammered on about the subject of poverty, I'm going to offer you some statistics obtained from this particular website: http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats

• Almost half of the world (that is over 3 billion people) live on less than $2.50 (£1.65) a day.
• The poorest 40% of the world's population account for 5% of global income, whereas the richest 20% accounts for 75% of world income. Pretty self-explanatory I suppose, but still fairly significant.
• According to UNICEF, 22,000 children die each day due to poverty. To me, that is an incomprehensibly high death rate. Don't you agree?
• Nearly a billion people entered the 21st Century unable to read a book or even sign their names. 
• Every year there are 350-500 million cases of malaria, with 1 million fatalities. 
• Some 1.1 billion people living in developing countries do not have access to clean water and 2.6 billion people lack basic sanitation. 

Hello and welcome everybody, to another of my posts where I ramble and ponder about the impossible. If someone ever asks me what sort of superpower I would most like to have, I think I would undoubtedly confess to wanting to be able to tell the future. Personally, I think it will be the most useful (other than super-strength or speed) in the modern world. It might seem strange because people are so caught up in 'living in the moment' these days, but the future may not be something that people want to know. I understand that the long-term future for us all will inevitably lead to our departure from this planet (apologies for lowering the tone, but we must face facts), but as an adolescent (or teenager as some of you like to brand us) who has their whole life ahead of them, knowing something of the future could bring some relief and leave us less stressed about our future outcome. For those who have already accomplished all within their life, then the future may either be something they are not looking forward to, or it might bring some pleasant surprises. I think, it's something entirely subjective.

Sometimes I wonder, 'what am I going to end up doing one day?', 'will I fulfil my dream of becoming a doctor, or will I turn to a different walk of life?' , 'where will I end up living one day?' or 'will I be happy with what I have achieved?'. Obviously, I have no clue as to what the answers to those questions are going to be, I can only guess. So, just for once, I would like to delve into my future to see what life has in store for me. Sometimes, it might end up being a waking call and one may have to completely change their lifestyle, in case they end up foreseeing a more troubled life than they expected. I guess, what I'm trying to coherently communicate is that, it would be nice to have a little advanced notice, so you can change within the present and possibly alter your future. I know this is entirely hypothetical, but wouldn't that relieve you of some major stress? For me, I think knowing what the future holds could be a vital part of shaping my actual future.

I also sometimes wonder, how the world will change in years to come. We all know about the imminent changes to our planet's climate and environment, but how will it actually end up? Will there be horrendous floods that drown entire countries (yes, I know that is slightly too far-fetched, but how am I to know?) Are we then all going to pack our bags and move to another planet? I can't stop myself from imagining the future that is always predicted in movies or television shows, where there are floating buildings and cars that fly. It seems incredibly ridiculous, as I write this now, but how do we know what' s going to happen? The rate at which we are advancing, we might end up eradicating some incredibly deadly diseases from this planet. On the other hand, the world population could increase so rapidly that we start to inhabit more and more areas that were originally solely dedicated to wild animals. What if the common animals that we know today, like giraffes and zebras become extinct and in there place, there exists a slightly more evolved and adapted hybrid (perhaps a gebra or ziraffe)? As you can tell, the future can be a frightening reality.

Unfortunately, nobody I know is gifted with such an ability, which may indeed be a good thing. You might feel slightly stranded or incredibly apprehensive about everything if your psychic powers informed you of the death of a loved one or if it indicates to you that your life isn't going to take the path you intended due to certain circumstances. Wouldn't that be thoroughly disappointing? Knowing everything about the future could make life less interesting as the world would cease to surprise you. You would know about your every move, before it actually happened. I suppose that takes the pleasure out of living and feeling alive. Once again, this is an argument that has two sides (oh how predictable). This sort of power could fall into the hands of the good and could save millions of lives and put an end to suffering as we know it. But, simultaneously, it could fall into wrong hands and be used to create havoc. So, I suppose it's up to you where you stand in this particular scenario.

Sometimes I really wish I could know even the slightest of details about my impending future, just to assure me that things are going to be okay. But, that is not an ability that we have, so we have to endure life as it comes, when it comes and how it comes. I suppose being psychic gives us an unfair advantage, which may ruin the balance of nature. However, on the other hand, it will really sharpen our 'decision-making' ability, based on what life throws at us. Don't you think? Anyway, thanks for reading.

Adios. xxx