Making a Difference...Into What?

Greetings! Just me, another member of contemporary society, nothing really special.

Today, I'd like to address the issue of people making a difference. 

What do you do to make a difference in the world?

"I, sorta, like, take out the trash and do the lawn chores daily to make our street look clean."

"I study engineering so I can build an automated food service system in the future! So far, it cooks and serves hot dogs!"

"I've discovered a new way to grow plants in my neighborhood! Now it's all pretty and covered in beautiful colors! If only we could clean up the streets' glass and paper litter, though..."

Alright. All interesting and perfectly fine options. However, as children, do you know the biggest and easiest way to make an impact on your community or, even better, the world potentially?

"OOH, OOH! I know! I know! We could have, like a neighborhood clean-up day around the country!"

"We could allow for the progression of society through more technological advances."

"We could try to lower pollution by, like, factories and...corporations and stuff."

Hmm...yes, yes, all perfectly fine options again. I especially admire the first response from- what was your name- Lilith?

"Yes, sir?"

Do you know that even though you think having a national clean-up day is a good idea, that's actually not the way you just suggested we help?

"What do you mean by that?"

The fact that you suggested something as "simple and effective" as having a day where the country dedicates the entirety of their productivity to a solitary act of goodness and welfare that, if continued would likely change the world as we know it is exactly that- a way to change the world.

"I don't follow."

Think about it this way, Shirley. Lilith is age 10, you're age 22, and Simon is age 14. Do you understand why I requested this meeting to have such a variety of ages in it?

"Not exactly...maybe a test in nostalgia?"

Close. To present to you the way I view the world. To me, Lilith, a "little kid" has the most morally capable thought process, keeping goodness in her heart above things like, you know, conceivability as opposed to reality. Her heart is in the right place, even if her imagination is too much to realistically implement. 

"What's that mean?"

Simon thinks on the level of an internally-conflicted teenager getting used to just now gaining a conscious and cognition of where he is in the world and just how much he can do in it. His thinking is torn between what's conceivable and what's effective.

"Is that, like, a good thing?"

You, however, are a young adult, who loves the pursuit of knowledge seeing as how you live in a world where optimism about the potential of every day is key in surviving. You, Shirley possess the ability to put what is effective over what's moral, while not forgetting that you have a moral dedication and want to help people. Am I wrong?

"No, sir. Not at all. What's all this for, though?"

You three represent something I've been noticing a slight decline in recently- difference. You presenting ideas on how to change the world doesn't mean anything compared to the amount of difference you are making just by being here, listening to each other, understanding and interpreting each other in your own ways. You are not making a difference. You are the difference to be made.

"Huh?"

In today's world, being "different" or being described as such carries as much of a bad connotation as say, saying you're a registered sex offender, especially amongst contemporary youth. I'd like to believe that the people around me are individuals, that they bear the same potential as anyone else, and yet here I stand, belief being one of the hardest things for me to cope with. The people I see...I don't see them as individuals- characters in a story to be developed and felt- rather, they are all just...too similar. Let me ask you each a question. Lilith, what do the girls like to do at your school?

"They all like combing their hair all the time, 'cause they like makeup and stuff- not that I really understand why, they all, like, talk about their favorite singers and the newest TV shows and stuff...yeah."

Okay, Lilith, fair enough. Next, Simon. What do the kids at your school do? 

"They mostly just yell and talk about basketball and the newest rap songs that come out. Some of them eye the girls a bit and some of 'em even got girlfriends recently. What's messed up, though is how fast their relationships are, no matter how many Instagram and Facebook dates they go on. The girls mostly gossip and sometimes one of 'em says somethin' real corny, you know, real stupid like, "Yo hair stank and yo nails broke, ol' stank piece of trash lookin', ooh, you so irritating!"- they really like the word "irritating", even though just hearing it is "irritating" enough."

Alright, now Shirley. Madam Shirley, do you remember what your school life was like?

"It...uh...the kids weren't the nicest. I got bullied from 3rd grade to 12th, and even contemplated killing myself around 6th grade because I thought no one loved me. Even though my parents would tell me to tell a teacher or try to ignore the kids, they were just ruthless. We had PSAs about bullying, the principal suspended people, my mom even came up to the school after hearing one of the other girls jumped me in the hallway for saying hi to her in front of her friends. I mean, I had friends, too, but I sorta felt distant from them. It seemed almost like the only reason they kept me around was because I didn't act like the rest of the kids, you know, running around cussing each other out for no reason. I try to forget those days, though. They didn't really mean as much as they should've, and I don't remember having even a day's joy to myself without having to sigh and move on past the trials and tribulations of daily life. All because I was just-"

"The "weird kid". The one who refused to fall in line. The one who didn't cuss out teachers for rightfully failing them. The one who didn't fight to look cool on Instagram, only to get expelled days later. The one that refused to let other people's judgments and validation get in the way of the little enjoyment you could scavenge for yourself. I know how you feel. I'm going through the same thing right now."

"The other girls yell at me for not keeping my hair combed, but I don't like combing my hair and makeup feels mushy and nasty, so I don't wear it. The teachers always send them outside and call their parents, saying that their kids're gonna get suspended for bullying. Does it really only get worse?"

"No, it do-"

Yes. It does. It's a sad truth, but it's a truth regardless. Ah! That does it for today's session. Be sure to return tomorrow so we can discuss this further.

"Oh...okay. See ya tomorrow, I guess."

"Bye, sir! Have a nice day!"

"Um...bye...Mr.- uh, what was your name again?"

Briggs. Just call me Mr. Briggs. 

"Okay, Mr. Briggs. See you tomorrow!"