How did life get this way?
At first we are just animals roaming the planet,
Doing anything to survive another day that life throws at us.
We hunt our prey, yet we hide when we are no longer the predator.
We find mates and build shelters to protect our offspring and ourselves.
Our goal in life is simply to survive long enough to produce our next generation.
Life used to be about getting by, and living to see the next sunrise,
But not anymore.

In a blink of an eye we are advanced humans making decisions for the future.
We live in a world with complex governments, competing economic feats, and global conflict.
We fight over whom the next leader will be, national borders, and our rights.
We try to assert our dominance over nations who are weaker, and take it upon ourselves to change others to be more like us.
Life is now about climbing to the top and staying there.

Our lives are no longer complete without fillers to take up the empty spaces.
Entertainment consumes any ounce of time we have left.
Our lives are bettered with computers, video games, national sports, and travel.
We are signed up for every extra curricular activity, watch TV, play sports, and are involved in the arts.
We have to have electronics like IPods, Laptops, Videogames, and Cameras to be satisfied.
Living for tomorrow is no longer good enough.

Today, I live without the fear of dying from a predator in the next hour, but instead the test I have next period.
Stress accumulates trying to make my parents proud of me at all times,
Studying for Midterms,
Making the lacrosse team,
And still having time to serve the community.
The list goes on forever.

But, how are my problems that important?
I am just one girl in Manhasset,
One girl in New York,
One girl in the United States,
One girl in the World!
Our earth occupies a small fragment of the universe,
Yet there is so much activity and life on it.
Outside earth there is no conflict, must-haves, and urgency.
To an outside eye we look like specks fighting each other over meaningless causes.
Specks that spend so much of their money on entertainment and their wants.
Specks that put so much precedence on education, government, and wealth.
Specks that spend their entire life trying to con others and get to the top.
Specks that worry so much about petty issues.
Specks whose ideals are laughable.

So, how can my life be that important?
After all I am just a speck.