On page 169 of It’s What I Do, Lynsey Addario expresses an internal conflict that is forcing her to choose between loved ones. Addario’s close friend and partner in photography, Elizabeth, is working alongside Addario on a project featuring the American troops in the Middle East. What’s more, though, is that Elizabeth is pregnant. To say the least, she is certainly in a more precarious setting than the typical mother-to-be. Keeping careful watch over her friend and the unborn child, Addario is constantly concerned about Elizabeth’s wellbeing. Addario, deciding to take a break from her unpredictably dangerous lifestyle, heads home for a bit to spend some personal time with her boyfriend, Paul. What was supposed to be a nice vacation from her work becomes unsettling when Addario finds herself continuously worrying over her friend and the overwhelming presence of “a constant, gnawing guilt.” When she discovers that Elizabeth had an episode of severe dehydration, Addario is compelled to leave Paul’s side and rush to Elizabeth’s.

Addario is addressing a conflict that many of us face on a regular basis. Addario calls on the audience to recognize this as a relatable issue by referring to her time spent with Paul as “regrouping and decompressing,” which seem all too simple to be apart of Addario’s life, but routine and necessary in our own. It’s true, though. We oftentimes find ourselves so ridiculously busy that we have to choose to whom or what we delegate our spare time.

Personally, I have found myself experiencing a conflict of this nature since I moved to University Park. I miss all of my friends and family dearly, but sometimes they all want to talk to me on the same night, and I just cannot make time for everyone. Or maybe I have so much schoolwork that I can’t talk to a single one of them. It’s sad, but this conflict is one that penetrates the lives of us all.

I am not sure that this conflict can directly fit itself into my passion blog, Happy in the Valley. Although, the happy scenarios that I describe in my blog can certainly counter one’s longing for a particular loved one or serve as a distraction from the guilt that people may experience that corresponds with this conflict of choosing.