In math, significant figures are the digits that carry meaning in regards to an equation's answer or resolution (that is the short definition--it is actually much more complex than just that).
However, with significant figures from a math standpoint, some digits do not count. For example: zeros. A zero is insignificant. I think that in this world, we tend to think the same things about people and ourselves. I disagree with this view on things. I believe that everyone in the world, and everyone in our life, are significant figures. No figure is more important than another. Every digit (and human being) is significant, and every number can change the equation. If we keep with this metaphor, the world would represent the actual equation, and every person as a digit; one digit can change the meaning and significance of that equation. People can be like that too. Every person plays a larger role in this world than they may think.
Many of us go through our life assuming that we are insignificant in the grand scheme of things. We walk around believing that one person cannot truly make a difference on Earth so we settle. We settle for things in our lives to be mediocre and average. We think that being ‘insignificant’ will do, because it is our life that we are concerned with, not everyone else’s.
This is such an unfortunate way of looking at things, because we CAN make a difference in the world. We are significant enough to make a change in our short life span. Why mosey through life assuming you cannot do something? Why settle for the opinion that we are insignificant?
I think that people get lost in the shuffle of life many times. I am including myself in this because everyone goes through it. High schoolers, college aged kids, and even adults have this happen. High schoolers are trying to figure out who they are and getting ready for college, college aged kids are more or less alone for the first time in life and they are beginning to feel the stresses of adulthood, and adults have Monday-Friday jobs and families that require their full attention 24/7. It is so difficult for many to just stop and think about how significant their life actually is and how much of a difference they could really change another person’s life.
About two years ago I decided that I am going to change the world one day. I went through the hardest stage of life I believe I could ever face and I made it through the other side, and I made the choice that I was going to make a difference. I am going to help others. I will not accept failure, and even if I only reach one person, I made a difference. It is a domino effect of change. Kindness breeds kindness. Love breeds love. Hope and Will breeds healing. You and I are significant figures, and we can change the equation called life.
