You must be the Change you wish to see in the World.
Progress. Innovation. Revolution. Improvement. Change. Technological and societal…Change. We’re all waiting on the world to change. A definitive cure for cancer. A total and complete termination of war and poverty. So this change, huh? Seems like a pretty great guy, but ironically, I’m not so ready to propose.
At first thought, change to me is the hundreds of pennies and nickels weighing my purse down – the ones I will pawn off at any opportunity. Don’t get me wrong, I’m silently praying and fighting for this world to change just as much as the next guy. It’s not the change itself that frightens me. It’s the aftermath.
Let’s be honest, not all change is good. And for a person like myself who has not yet experienced enough of this world to have mastered the fine art of adaptation, change is horrific. Think of a time that you went to your favorite restaurant but decided to "try something new." With each bite, you can't help but think of when you will return so that you can go back to ordering your "regular." So often, the new just can't seem to measure up. Today, things in my life are decent. Manageable. Comfortable. What if this “change” brings a tomorrow that is unacceptable or…worse?
Is it worth taking that risk? Can I handle the repercussions? When Bruce Wayne assumes the role of Batman, it is to rid Gotham city of crime. To change the city for the better, forever. Instead, his existence wreaks havoc among criminals and life in the city becomes arguably darker. But they say that the night is always darkest before the dawn. So I guess this means that we are to embrace all change, even the bad, while having faith in the fact that it will eventually bring good. How can the powers that be expect such patience and rationality from youth like myself?
Now look what I’ve gone and done. I brought up the y-word. Another aspect of the eternal tormentor that is change. As my twentieth birthday lurks in an alleyway just ahead, I face the transition from adolescent to young adult. Unfortunately, this isn’t just a simple change from teen to twenties. It’s the change of my fundamental internal struggle. I abandon the pressures of identity and role confusion and welcome the ever-frightening battle between intimacy and isolation. I will no longer be forced down by the burdens of peer pressure or surrounded by the fickle temperament of moody teenagers (except that of my brother…). Instead I enter the years where I will succeed or fail in making personal commitments to those who are important in my life. No pressure.
As I transition into this next phase of my life, I realize that grand-scale change lies in the hands of young and ambitious individuals like myself. There is a lot to be done and the Baby Boomers are passing us the baton. Best feet will be put forward. But when it comes to those small-scale changes in my personal life, I'm reluctant to open the door.
Simply put, I’m a creature of habit. I am a regular. My actions are predictable while my thoughts might be completely scattered. I love the “new” but am eager to mold it into the routine. I like to be settled. I go for depth of an experience, not breadth of experiences. And even if I am not changing my beliefs or actions at the blink of an eye, I will still drain the wine of life to the dregs.
Change scares me. But I'm willing to give it a chance...especially if it promises to at least one day, help, not hurt.
At first thought, change to me is the hundreds of pennies and nickels weighing my purse down – the ones I will pawn off at any opportunity. Don’t get me wrong, I’m silently praying and fighting for this world to change just as much as the next guy. It’s not the change itself that frightens me. It’s the aftermath.
Let’s be honest, not all change is good. And for a person like myself who has not yet experienced enough of this world to have mastered the fine art of adaptation, change is horrific. Think of a time that you went to your favorite restaurant but decided to "try something new." With each bite, you can't help but think of when you will return so that you can go back to ordering your "regular." So often, the new just can't seem to measure up. Today, things in my life are decent. Manageable. Comfortable. What if this “change” brings a tomorrow that is unacceptable or…worse?
Is it worth taking that risk? Can I handle the repercussions? When Bruce Wayne assumes the role of Batman, it is to rid Gotham city of crime. To change the city for the better, forever. Instead, his existence wreaks havoc among criminals and life in the city becomes arguably darker. But they say that the night is always darkest before the dawn. So I guess this means that we are to embrace all change, even the bad, while having faith in the fact that it will eventually bring good. How can the powers that be expect such patience and rationality from youth like myself?
Now look what I’ve gone and done. I brought up the y-word. Another aspect of the eternal tormentor that is change. As my twentieth birthday lurks in an alleyway just ahead, I face the transition from adolescent to young adult. Unfortunately, this isn’t just a simple change from teen to twenties. It’s the change of my fundamental internal struggle. I abandon the pressures of identity and role confusion and welcome the ever-frightening battle between intimacy and isolation. I will no longer be forced down by the burdens of peer pressure or surrounded by the fickle temperament of moody teenagers (except that of my brother…). Instead I enter the years where I will succeed or fail in making personal commitments to those who are important in my life. No pressure.
As I transition into this next phase of my life, I realize that grand-scale change lies in the hands of young and ambitious individuals like myself. There is a lot to be done and the Baby Boomers are passing us the baton. Best feet will be put forward. But when it comes to those small-scale changes in my personal life, I'm reluctant to open the door.
Simply put, I’m a creature of habit. I am a regular. My actions are predictable while my thoughts might be completely scattered. I love the “new” but am eager to mold it into the routine. I like to be settled. I go for depth of an experience, not breadth of experiences. And even if I am not changing my beliefs or actions at the blink of an eye, I will still drain the wine of life to the dregs.
Change scares me. But I'm willing to give it a chance...especially if it promises to at least one day, help, not hurt.
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