Maybe you have seen this picture before. Maybe not. But have you really seen the message behind it?

Photography depicts the souls of its subjects, not simply the smiles.

Kevin Carter took this photograph in 1993, while he worked as a photojournalist during the Sudanese Famine. The photo was published in the New York Times which provoked an immediate response from the public. Many were quick to berate Carter for his "inhumanity" since he had done nothing to help the starving child. And while I agree that his actions may have been cruel and unkind, I can't help but feel ashamed of my own response toward the millions just like that child.

I am ashamed because I spend too much time worrying about looking a certain way. I am ashamed because I spend too much time complaining about how hot or cold it is for the fifteen minutes I have to walk across campus to class. I am ashamed because I spend too much time obsessing over how many likes my Facebook post received. I am ashamed because I spend too much time whining about having to put forth some effort to obtain a college degree. I am ashamed because I don't have even the slightest inclination of what true suffering is.

We hear about the statistics and watch it on the news every day. There are countless people who live on a few dollars a day which means they don't have a roof over their heads. We view images of skeleton families who literally have no food, forcing them to eat dirt in order to survive. The same dirt that we walk across in our eighty dollar pair of shoes.

Maybe I cannot end world hunger or prevent the spread of AIDS. But I can give thanks for the abundant blessings I've been given. I can donate money or time towards helping a few individuals who are in need of it. I can travel to third world countries and rebuild homes. And I can raise awareness of real people who face real suffering on a daily basis. WE can make a difference.

"I alone can not change the world. But I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples." -Mother Teresa