Don't ask what the world needs.
Post-WWII... Post-Kent State... Post-Jackson State... Post-Challenger Explosion... Post-Columbine... Post-911... Post-Virginia Tech...
Yes. The world is full of sickness, self-centeredness, and sadness. I saw Barack Obama speak yesterday and it made me cry. It made me cry because he spoke so fondly of the feasibility of global unity and acceptance, and as much as I want to, I can't make myself believe that that's ever going to be possible.
Sometimes when I'm walking around Boston, and I'm just absolutely overwhelmed by how visible hardships are, literally right outside my door. People sleeping on the Commons freezing and starving to death. I've heard gunshots out my window after the 2am last call at the bars. Once I saw a prostitute weeping on a sidewalk when I went out to get pizza in the middle of the night. I dropped a class this semester because I wanted to do some volunteer work; I felt like college life had made me too self-involved, and I wanted to go and do something external. But I realized, after teaching at two homeless shelters for a month and a half, that no amount of work was ever going to feel like enough.
Our generation is divided. I know plenty of people who don't know and don't care, and plenty of people who are trying to carry the weight of the world. And breaking themselves. DON'T BE ONE OF THEM. If there's one thing the world doesn't need, it's another martyr crucified on the cross of change.
Don't ask what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go and do that. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive.
Whatever it is to you. If you're a comedian... the world needs more laughter. If you're a vocalist... people want to hear less noise and more song. If you're a politician... the world needs new laws. If you're a poet... hell, not very many people read it anymore, but the world needs more poetry. Don't ever let anybody make you think that your passions are useless, because they're not. The rationals and the emotives of this world degrade each other far too much, in my opinion. I really do think that there's a place for all of us, that every passion we have has the power to touch a certain population of people in a life-changing way. You're job isn't to figure out what the world is trying to be. Your job is to figure out who YOU are trying to be. If you want to help heal the world, find what you love, love it fearlessly, and stay away from everything that makes you feel apathetic. That is what the world needs.
That's my honest opinion, and it's all I've got for tonight.
Yes. The world is full of sickness, self-centeredness, and sadness. I saw Barack Obama speak yesterday and it made me cry. It made me cry because he spoke so fondly of the feasibility of global unity and acceptance, and as much as I want to, I can't make myself believe that that's ever going to be possible.
Sometimes when I'm walking around Boston, and I'm just absolutely overwhelmed by how visible hardships are, literally right outside my door. People sleeping on the Commons freezing and starving to death. I've heard gunshots out my window after the 2am last call at the bars. Once I saw a prostitute weeping on a sidewalk when I went out to get pizza in the middle of the night. I dropped a class this semester because I wanted to do some volunteer work; I felt like college life had made me too self-involved, and I wanted to go and do something external. But I realized, after teaching at two homeless shelters for a month and a half, that no amount of work was ever going to feel like enough.
Our generation is divided. I know plenty of people who don't know and don't care, and plenty of people who are trying to carry the weight of the world. And breaking themselves. DON'T BE ONE OF THEM. If there's one thing the world doesn't need, it's another martyr crucified on the cross of change.
Don't ask what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go and do that. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive.
Whatever it is to you. If you're a comedian... the world needs more laughter. If you're a vocalist... people want to hear less noise and more song. If you're a politician... the world needs new laws. If you're a poet... hell, not very many people read it anymore, but the world needs more poetry. Don't ever let anybody make you think that your passions are useless, because they're not. The rationals and the emotives of this world degrade each other far too much, in my opinion. I really do think that there's a place for all of us, that every passion we have has the power to touch a certain population of people in a life-changing way. You're job isn't to figure out what the world is trying to be. Your job is to figure out who YOU are trying to be. If you want to help heal the world, find what you love, love it fearlessly, and stay away from everything that makes you feel apathetic. That is what the world needs.
That's my honest opinion, and it's all I've got for tonight.