This past Thursday, the whole chamber choir from my school attended a choral festival at Reinhardt University. The theme of the whole festival this year was "Be the Light" and it was actually very eye-opening to me. Sure, I have known for quite some time that our world is pretty crazy and messed up, yet I had never realized how much it needed my generation's help until yesterday. Honestly, there is so much unnecessary hatred and ugliness and I have been turning a blind eye because it will be more convenient for me. "How were my eyes opened?" you ask. Well, the first song we learned together was named "I Dream a World." The words, from the Langston Hughes poem with the same title, were composed into a beautiful song by Andre Thomas.

"I dream a world where man

No other man will scorn,

Where love will bless the earth

And peace its paths adorn

I dream a world where all

Will know sweet freedom's way,

Where greed no longer saps the soul

Nor avarice blights our day.

A world I dream where black or white,

Whatever race you be,

Will share the bounties of the earth

And every man is free,

Where wretchedness will hang its head

And joy, like a pearl,

Attends the needs of all mankind-

Of such I dream, my world!"

This poem really showed me how wonderful the world could potentially be.

As we rehearsed and the choir slowly began to perfect the song, Dr. Martha Shaw, the choral director at Reinhardt, had us share how we would complete the sentence, "I dream a world in which..." At first not many people raised their hands and as more people shared their opinions the hands started to fly up to tell what they dreamt of what the world should be. Some people spoke about the issues of drug and alcohol abuse, others spoke of the lack of consideration human beings have and still others talked about how outright hateful people can be for no reason. Dr. Shaw also had us write "what we dreamt a world of" underneath the title of the carefully selected piece. In my music I wrote, "I dream a world where everyone encourages each other to pursue their dreams rather than degrade those around them."

At the beginning of our final performance, Dr. Shaw had about six people share what they had written in their music and as each person stated their encouraging words, it woke something in me. It woke the dream I once had when I was a little girl: the love of people.

As a young child, I wanted to be a doctor. This was not because I thought doctors made a lot of money or because it was a widely encouraged profession, it was for the reason I wish I did everything I do today. It was because of my genuine love of people. Today, I am calling myself to begin life with a new purpose, changing people by loving people. I call you to be the light in the world.

Be the light at your workplace, at your school and at the grocery store and everywhere you go. Learn to remember others before you think of yourself. Be the light. I dream of a world in which people love people and they are unashamed of it.

"Most important, love each other. Love is what holds you all together in perfect unity." -Colossians 3:14