Ultimately you want to do something in life that people will remember. And with Buffy, I did that. I don't feel like I need to achieve something. I just do it because it's fun. And that takes the pressure off.
In order to feel contempt, you generally need to cherish some kind of feelings.
The first thing to recognize not just about Afghanistan but about any poor undeveloped country is that as big as it looks on the map, it's much bigger when you're there.