My place in a changing world

 

December 27, 2034. Today is my fiftieth birthday; the world around me has evolved. I stand at the window looking outside; the sky is still blue, and the snow looks pure and untouched, just as it looks every time winter comes. Yet, it all seems fresh and new, although I experienced it so many times before. I plop down in a chair depressed that I have reached a pivotal moment in my life, a place where I do not know if I really did something to affect the now changed world. The current world is not as I had envisioned when I was ten.

There are many scrapbooks lying on my bookshelves. Intrigued, I pick one up. It is worn and tattered; inside lies my past, my key to how I helped this world. The events are nothing compared to a Nobel Peace Prize but simple activities, trips and memories instilled in my life and hopefully in others. I look at the photographs; there are ones from my trip to Louisiana, where for the first time I built houses for Habitat for Humanity. As a teenager, I did not have to give up a week in summer to volunteer my time to help someone less fortunate; however, as a result of that one week, I have given time every year to that cause. I flip through pages of my friends and family and then I find something that reminds me of a time when I know I made a difference, a time when I influenced a life. I remember all the faces of the children I tutored and mentored. I think of how my life was enhanced as I visited the kids every week, and each time I noticed how their small habits were going away and their attitudes began to improve. I still stay in touch with them, even though they are now grown up and lead successful lives. Now, I realize the enormous impact I have had on the future of the world. I turn more pages, recalling events that touched me. Finally, I shut the photo album with the realization that my role in this world never had to be big, just enough to inspire one person.

I pick up my coffee mug, and breathe in the steam; many thoughts go through my mind. I stand up unable to control the happiness I feel. For so many years, I contemplated my place in society. Was I really making a difference? Will I one day regret all that I attempted? Now, all my questions are answered. My participation in this changing world does not have to be drastic and earth shattering, just small increments of kindness. Finally, the past fifty years of my life make sense, and I am happy that the world tomorrow will be better because I helped change today. 

 

By Amy Lorenz