Impact

Loss of ignorance is commonly considered to be one of the stepping stones on the pathway to adulthood. As children, we contain a spark of hope, carefully preserved by our youthful imaginations and naivety, and though we lack the vocabulary to express it, most of us are idealists. Our goals are fearlessly constructed on the belief that we can do anything, be anyone, and change the world if we so desire because, at this stage of life, nothing exists to argue otherwise.

Eventually, life's experiences extinguish our spark and replace it with a trail of smoke - a shadow of the wonder we once possessed. This isn't to say that adults lack the capacity to dream, but more often than not, their goals are laced with a fear that discourages persistence, suppressing the passion needed to ignite them. Our longing to inspire, advance, and instill change in society is outweighed by our mindset of realism and the assumption that as one of seven billion, our impact on the world is too minuscule to make it worth trying at all.

This raises a question: Are there some things that simply can't be changed? After reading "Just Walk On By" in class this past week, it obvious how author Brent Staples would respond to such inquiry. In describing the precautions he takes when walking at night to appear less threatening, his tone is one of defeat. He regrets that societal views have caused him to impose fear upon pedestrians in his wake. He regrets that being mistaken for a criminal is an "unpleasantry" he is frequently subjected to. But he accepts these attitudes. As Staples goes on to explain the danger he faces in being seen as an intimidating presence, I understand why he feels he must change himself rather than the perceptions of others. But how do we know that we're really too small to have an impact?