I'm going to change the world!

“If you are moved to such a degree that you feel the pain, and you can feel the tears running down your face, then you are looking at an opportunity to make a change, to make a difference in the world.” -John Francis

            What am I doing in Paris at the American University of Paris studying Global Communication with a specialization in Development Communication? I am going to change the world. I want to make the world a better place not just now, not just for me, not just for my own personal reasons and gain. I want to change the world for everyone, make it a better place not just for this generation but also for many generations to come. There are so many opportunities right now to make a positive change in your own community, your city, your state and your country yet people are content to sit idly by and watch the world crumble around them. I do not understand. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… “We must be the change we wish to see in the world.” -Mahatma Gandhi

            Ask yourself if we keep on the course we are on now with technology, war, famine, terrorism, revolutions, dictators, poverty, disease and politics where will we be in 10 years? 20 years? From where I am standing it is not a pretty picture. We will be governed not by the ones who are elected based on what an informed society wants, but who the large masses of people with the most power think will continue to give them that power and let them keep their money and monopolies.

            The United States and many global nations are content to watch the poverty stricken, war torn, disease ridden countries fall to pieces as they face civil wars, terrorism, violence and a basic denial of their civil rights and liberties. There are still many places in this world where women do not have equal rights, and I am not talking about what American women complain about… I am talking about being stoned to death for showing your ankles, forced into marriage at the age of 14 or 15 to older men simply because they are wealthy, not having the freedom to go anywhere without a representative man of your family with you if you even get to leave the house. In the United States we like to complain about all of the rights we do not have, yet there are people suffering all over the world who have it much worse than we do.

            Education in the United States is in poor condition compared to where we think it should be, but in comparison to some other countries where illiteracy levels are unbelievably high and the chances of a child attending 12 year of school are unheard of, children in the United States have it pretty good. Teachers are under paid, classes are over crowded, and there is never enough funding, but we have so much to be grateful for and we neglect to acknowledge that we have it so good.

            So, what am I doing here? I am going to change the world. There is so much that needs to be done, so much that can be done, and so much that I am willing to dedicate my life to accomplishing so that everyone can look forward to a better tomorrow. 

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