-"Be the change that you wish to see in the world."
Take to heart these words said by Mahatma Gandhi,arguably one of the greatest change masters that ever lived.Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing themselves.The problems facing the world today are great, and it will surely take the greatness of millions if not billions of people working together towards a common goal to overcome them.Changing the world does not happens overnight, but it won't happen by not making an effort either.The time to act is now, and our role is just as important as the next person's. While we might think the little things we can do are insignificant and have no effect, with enough people these small things add up and make an even bigger change than any single organization or person could ever do! It all starts with us, and our willingness to help create the world that we dream of.To be the change we want to see in the world,we don’t have to be loud. We don’t have to be eloquent or be elected.We don’t even have to be particularly smart or well educated.We do, however, have to be committed.(212)
-We just can't wake up one morning and change the world.We need to take one small step at a time.At times we even think, “Hey, I don’t want to change the world. I just want to stay sane, take care of myself and my family and live peacefully in the confines of my house.”The thing is, life is always a contest between the world changing you, or you changing the world.The world pushes you, and if you don’t push back then it will inevitably corrupt you in one way or another.(94)
-We all know that all significant changes throughout history have occurred not because of nations, armies, governments and certainly not committees. They happened as a result of the courage and commitment of individuals like Joan of Ark, Albert Einstein, Clara Barton, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison and Rosa Parks. They might not have done it alone, but they were, without question, the change makers.The most recent example we can take of is of the great personality Anna Hazaare who once again revived the spirit of nationalism among the Indians and also proved that an individual can make a difference,only we need to be dedicated to our cause.We need to realise that nothing is trivial. The world maybe big, but there are no small things. Everything matters.(126)
-The genesis for change is awareness. We cannot change what we don’t acknowledge. Most of the time, we aren’t even aware of what’s wrong or what’s not working.By becoming more aware, we begin the process of change.Don’t wait for things to be right in order to begin. Change is messy. Things will never be just right. Follow Teddy Roosevelt’s timeless advice, "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."Don’t get caught up in the how of things. If you’re clear on what you want to change and why you want to change it, the how will come. Many significant things have been left undone because someone let the problem solving interfere with the decision-making.(120)
-Even teenagers like me have the ability to change the world even though we are only teenagers.It is because our generation is powerful due to the technological advancement.Our world is suffering serious environmental consequences, we are plagued with wars and violence. So what can we do about it? Some people tell me that because we are teenagers we don't have a voice. Actually they are dead wrong. We do have a voice!With that voice we can change the world.We can stop terrorist organizations in their tracks by uniting our generation against them and raising a voice to stop this! We can talk to people of our age, young people who the terrorists are trying to recruit. We, better than any other government or army in the world, can stop global terrorism.With that voice, we can take command of our nation's broken government, a system of constant arguments, and turn it around. We are all residents and most of us are citizens, are'nt we? Well then we have the power to change things!But if we won't change the world, who will? Who are we going to allow to change our planet? Some terrorist? Or us?In the end, it's our choice. And in the end, no one but us will be to blame unless we act.(230)
-People are often afraid of the consequences ,if their attempt at enforcing change goes wrong. They are scared that they'll be laughed at or talked aboutt. But what is this laughter and talking compared to the thousands of tears, if change was not even attempted?There are millions of people behind us too shy to take a stand or maybe they don't have the resources- speak up for them! Be that person, what'
s stopping you?We are all humans and we only get one life.Do not waste it sitting around and discussing everything that is wrong in the world but doing nothing yourself.One wise thing to take into consideration is that chance and change have one letter difference but without one we cannot have the other. Chance is the consequence of change and change is the reason for chance. We decide what path we wish to travel in life and we get opportunities to perform certain things due to this change in path.(149)
-As Mother Teresa said that "I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples."Hence,we need to begin with the foundation, which is us only. If we can not do it, then how can we expect other people to?Like if we want to see a world where reason is embraced over superstition, then make the world more rational.Another way of putting it might be, to be an evangelist for the type of world we want to see.It means if we want something to change,we have to change first.We can't go around waiting for everyone else to start because actually everyone else is waiting for someone else. So basically be an example!Take personal responsibility.Never think that "It’s not my job". It’s a cop-out to say, "What can I do, I’m only one person." You don’t need everyone’s cooperation or anyone’s permission to make changes.Remember this little thing, "If it’s to be, it’s up to me."Thus it is rightly said that change yourself and the whole world changes for you.