Change is both a natural and spontaneous thing. It is a disastrous storm ripping through a community, yet also the joining hands in prayer and effort to heal from the devastation afterwards. It is a world pulling together finally to cure disease both within our species and our own planet. Though it will come on its own time, one can push for change, strive to achieve the impossible. Even a small change-- change in circumstance, an opportunity-- can create intense effects.

Change is not always picturesque; it does not always come gently. Sometimes change is sudden, and we find ourselves facing the bull’s horns. Or rather, we are caught in the path of a category three hurricane. Hurricane Ike made its way onto our shores in the fall of 2008. The aftermath left the entire town of Galveston, Texas, stripped down to nothing. Coastline became sea, houses disappeared. Closer to home, damage was still apparent. Trees and power lines were tossed about, rammed through roofs, and smashed through our small-town way of life. And somehow, amidst all the wreckage and debris, we found ourselves. We discovered sincerity, found our compassion that had long since been stuffed beneath our busy agendas. We harnessed the disaster that had bulldozed over our lives and found love and hope in one another.

And this is what humanity continues to do. So many people have at last opened their eyes to the mess things have become. Finally, we are coming together to battle and defeat illness all over. Countless lives are being changed for the better every second because others give them the strength they so urgently need. Our Earth is on the borderline of cataclysmic change; but we are confronting that, too.

All the world is waking up and embracing change and also each other. Together, we are indestructible.

I would very much like to be someone in this world. I want to matter, to do or create something beautiful, not just exist. In the words of Josh Billings, “Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well.” I plan to do just that, because I believe in making the most of the chances I am given in life.

It takes change to make a difference, to accomplish a dream. I am willing to do whatever it takes to reach my goals, fulfill my dreams. Mahatma Gandhi spent his life encouraging people to “be the change that you wish to see.” It is my time to become part of something much larger than myself. I am ready to take my place as a blazing force of change in this world.