Nothing To Fear, Lex is Here!
Everyone gets busy. Some people are busier than others. How many people can find the time to make a difference in the world? How many people can make a difference in just one life? How many people waste years of their life doing things that regret, things that do not matter? That is my greatest fear; wasting crucial time on inconsequential matters. More specifically, dying before getting to make a difference in as many lives as possible. To leave the Earth without leaving a mark is truly the worst imaginable fate.
As a kid, I was very observant. I would watch as certain others went through their lives without a care. They did what they wanted, said what they wanted, and never helped a single person. It bothered me tremendously. How could they be so self-centered? Do they not notice the people dying around them? If they would just talk to someone in need, they could change that person’s life forever. It is not hard to change someone’s life. I once heard a quote that said “Wherever life takes you, leave the place shaking, disrupted and trying to imagine what it was like before you came. Be a force for change. For pondering. And re-pondering. For love and the belief in the good of people” (Jordan Lejuwaan). I decided that I would be a force for change. I would make a difference in as many people’s lives as possible. The only problem that I encountered was time. How can I complete all of my projects while doing everything that is required of a teenager? Between a job and school; let alone things I like, books, family, etc. I have to try to find a way to make a difference before my time runs out.
Companies today convince their buyers that there is always something to do. The problem with this is that they want you to waste your time with their product instead of actually being productive. Millions of people get tricked into wasting precious time on insignificant products. The majority of those people believe that they have nothing better to do with their time, so they might as well waste time doing what companies tell them to do. They believe that, because they are only one person, they are not important enough to make a difference. Cultural Anthropologist Margaret Mead challenged people like them by saying, “Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For, indeed, that’s all who ever have.” I wholeheartedly believe in Margaret’s words. There are many people who share the same views as Margaret and I. William James said, “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” Colin Wilson acknowledged, “The mind has exactly the same power as the hands: not merely to grasp the world, but to change it.” Thomas Paine believed that “we have it in our power to change the world over.” If so many people feel this way, why do others go through life only thinking about themselves?
AP Literature 