If you’re reading this, it means that somehow and someway you’ve stumbled onto this website to find this article. I hope that these words do something for you as they do for me. You may not know me, so let me introduce myself. My name is Nanette, and I’m just your average product of a newer generation. A generation being swallowed by new technology, social media, and children being raised staring at screens. As much as I resent technology and the negative outcomes, I’ve learned to embrace it, because thanks to technology, you’re reading this right now.
My sister and I were hiking the other day, and we had a thought-provoking conversation about how the world works. As most of the younger generation assumes doom upon those to come, we talked about the unconditional feeling of obligation to take on the world’s faults. It only seems plausible that if we didn’t do it, the bystander effect would ruin the world. What kind of a life is it to feel that your sole responsibility is to change the world one small step at a time? She got to talking about a book she loved: “Tuesday’s With Morrie.” It’s about a man who was dying from ALS who talks about how surreal it is to observe people living as they do. He saw the world differently for the first time. He talked about how he’d find himself watching trees sway for hours and how he thought they were unappreciated. He just couldn’t wrap his finger around the fact that people were missing the finer things in life because society has turned us into worker bees.
I related it to being sick or really hurt. When I’m really ill I don’t care about anything but feeling better. When you’ve fallen and broken your arm, you don’t care about the barbeque that Jimmy is having. All you care about is getting better. Knowing that I’m capable of thinking without influence about anything other than getting better, I’m assured that it’s possible of thinking about anything other than living.
The point of these words is that I want you to know wherever you are, I believe that you can do anything you set your mind to. What is the point to go on spending time doing things that you don’t like? How much time do you really have to spend if you’re not working towards your life purpose? What is it that really makes your heart patter? If you’re not working towards doing that, when will you? No matter how hard it seems to accomplish a goal, I don’t think that there is anything that could stop you except for yourself. Not economic status, not race, not sexuality, not even politics. But that doesn't mean that it will always be easy.
I don’t know who you are, but I do know that you are a beautiful person. Even though I may never talk to you, laugh with you, or learn from you, I love who you are, because you are you. Your brain works in ways that some may not understand, and that’s what makes you so special. Don’t ever let anyone make you feel like your voice doesn’t matter, because you are a leader. We are all leaders. We are all capable of making change.
“Make everyone feel like a someone.” That’s one of my favorite quotes that I live by everyday. There’s only so much time that we have here, and making an impact on this world is one of the goals I’ve set for myself. If I were to die tomorrow, I’d be happy with how I’ve spent my years. Would you?
