A Change to Make a Difference

Change  as defined in the Webster’s Dictionary, is a verb which means to make or become different. Every thing and every one in this world undergo change including myself and based on my experience I can say that, change is an event that can turn a person into someone better or worse. It is an occurence that requires a lot of efforts to be dealt with accordingly and a great amount of temperance to be surpassed if it happens to be negative. It is a point in one’s life in which God’s presence and guidance are needed.

Several changes in me and in my life have been  happening  as I grow up. All aspects of my personality have developed and made me what I am now. And among the changes, the one that I treasure the most is my acceptance of God as my personal Savior. I used to view life’s difficulties as God’s punishment to people for every sin they have committed but when God entered into my life my perspective of life’s difficulties  changed. And as my faith in Him deepens I get to see my life’s meaning and purpose. Now, I see trials as  God’s test of faith to everyone, a kind of thinking which served me a key which  opened  the door to God’s purpose of creating me and to attaining the difference that He wants me to make. Further, it guides me as I go through the changes and try to overcome each trial that comes along each change.

 Adapting and overcoming a change to make a difference for a youth like me is such a great challenge, a metaphor for running a race. To run a race, warming up is a must. A runner does  not just run as the race starts, he makes preparations first. Then,  come  practices, as a common proverb says “Practice makes perfect”. Practices set a runner fit to run the race. These increase his chance to win and surpass the race. Determining a goal for running needs to be considered as well. To finish the race is the goal, with this in mind the runner will be motivated to gear up himself as instructed and be focused on what he is about to undergo. Gearing up for a runner does not only mean wearing appropriate clothes but gearing himself with strength and values like patience, diligence, discipline and determination, all that a man needs to win the race. Obstacles that may hinder a runner to reach the finish line may occur, thus, he needs to have faith in God, for without this finishing the race will never be possible.

I am a youth and I run a race and just like the runner mentioned I need to be prepared, to practice how to deal with people, changes and trials that come along the way. I need to sacrifice, to endure each pain brought by the change or the trial so that I can be the kind of person  that God wants me to be.

According to a German proverb, “To change and to improve are two different things”, with this I agree. When a person changes it does not necessarily mean that he improves. Some people change but they do not improve. Some change in attempt to improve their condition in life. For instance, the police officer who hostaged the Hong Kong tourists for a personal cause, the man was awarded as an Outstanding Senior Police Superintendent and he lived having the respect of the people until one day he woke up experiencing a sudden change in his life, a change which brought him to the place which became a scene of the crime that took the lives of Hong Kong nationals. From being a disciplined police officer the man changed into a hostage taker because he wanted things that would improve his family’s condition.  Another example is the opposite of the first one. Everyone knows Manny Pacquiao, the man who geared up himself with strength , discipline, determination and great faith in God in all of his fights especially on the very recent one, against Margarito. Despite the elaborate edge of the opponent Pacquiao won the fight. This victor has not only changed and improved himself but changed and improved as well the lives of the people around him. He has influenced Filipinos to strive and to attain their ambitions. He became an icon, he made a difference.

Changing to make a difference does not require a large number of people to happen, it begins with the self. Pacquiao proved that and I as part of the youth’s population wants to do the same thing. I need not be Pacqiao’s female version nor a  hostage taker to make a difference.  Change comes whether we like it or not, it’s as inevitable as death and this is not an issue of whether I like change  or not, but a matter of how I deal with it and make use of it.

As a youth, I believe that change takes place because there is God who directs everything. It is He who leads  us to the right path and to success. He lets us experience trials to mold our characters and become the person that He wants us to be.

Making a difference in this fast changing and chaotic world  is somewhat impossible for an ordinary youth like me but with God I know nothing is impossible. To make my fellow youths believe that having a meaningful relationship with God and manifesting His love can change people and make them demonstrate DIFFERENCE is my goal. There’s no question on the probability of the effect  because  Mother Theresa and Martin Luther King, Jr. had done the same thing and they triumphed. They made a difference.  All I need is to trust God, manifest his love and above all, begin the task because nothing will be accomplished unless something is begun.

A change to make a difference.  This is my voice, the voice of the youth.