“Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” – Robert F. Kennedy
For the first time in a long time, I have hope. I have hope despite the desolate state our world is in, despite impending international wars, despite millions of people lost and seeking refuge.
I have hope because I think, for the first time in a long time, we’ve been shaken into action. We are pushed from our comfort levels to say “This isn’t right,” or, resoundingly, “We will not stand for this.”
Art of Manliness once wrote that the reason Millennials are so anxious, so evidently unhappy with our triumph and our wealth, so desperately longing for the end of the world, is because we are meant to be a hero generation. Now, it’s easy to see how one of the most self-involved generations could picture themselves as heroes, but now is the time to prove it to the rest of the world.
This is our chance.
We get bogged down by the insignificances, thinking that what we do doesn’t matter, but the truth is that we create a butterfly effect with our actions. We improve the world by improving ourselves and helping others to improve themselves. And I have hope that we can, and will, change this world. We may have been handed circumstances out of our control, but what we have is the power to take those circumstances and give them a big middle finger. We can move forward, improving on the situation at hand by standing up, speaking loudly, and refusing to be silenced.
There’s a lot of horror in the world right now, but for the first time in a long time, I have hope.
Illegibly K.M. West 