What do you do to make a difference in the world?

How do my actions change the world? I’m not an activist, too meek to be a leader, but making a difference takes a lot less than being involved in big organizations and protests. We do not need extraordinary talents to inspire change, nor do we need power and influence. What I do is much simpler and is possible of anyone. When going through a doorway, I stop and hold the door open for people nearby. When someone drops their books in the hall I’ll stop and pick them up. And if someone needs help I’ll gladly volunteer. These little acts of kindness may not seem like much, and indeed they do not require much effort, but the effect they have is infinitely large. A helping hand may be just what a person needs and knowing that someone, regardless of whether they know them or not, is willing to lend a hand will make them feel that they matter in the world. And hey, who knows? - They just might pass the good deed on. This ripple effect can lead to more people helping others for no reason other than wanting to be a Good Samaritan. So if you see someone in need of a helping hand, help them! And if someone has been kind to you, pay it forward!

Clueless.
Best friends for 156 days, 5 months, and 3744 hours. On day 1 she was like everyone else. She was friendly and sweet, just trying to find someone to be with at lunch. Turns out that someone was me. No, I didn’t know her life story or her background. People thought I was just like her. They thought I was clueless. Little did they know, I wasn’t? I saw past the walls she put up to hide herself, I saw through the fog she surrounded herself with to protect herself. I saw her. The person she is, not the things she did.
Turns out that all she needed. Someone to care about her. She still says that I’m crazy for treating her well, when I hardly knew her. Maybe I am, and maybe that’s what the world needs, just a little bit more clueless.
Being there for someone doesn’t take a lot. The key to that lock is simple. Don’t judge. Be there for people no matter who it is. I got yelled at, and ignored by the people I care about most. All because I was there for someone who people thought didn’t deserve it. But I didn’t leave her. I stood by her. And that what those people should have realized is that everybody deserves love. If everyone just opened their eyes and saw the little details. Not just the bigger picture they would see that if everyone like her had someone who cared there could be less suicides, less hurt, and less hate.
Don’t judge people for what they do, but that “gooey” place inside of them.

"Flip!", "pop!" Every day, as I walk around my house, I turn off all unnecessary lights and plug out electrical cords out of the wall sockets. When I am outside, I take the time to walk to the garbage can or the recycling bin to throw out my trash. I preferably use reusable bags instead of plastic ones, and go on free donation sites everyday, where you can answer simple questions to donate rice to the needy people. Also, I participate in the school organization “HOPE, Helping Other People Everywhere.” This amazing group help not only the local people, but people in different continents as well, hence the name. This may not seem like a lot, but these small actions can build up to make a big change in the world someday. I don’t have the power to change the world alone, and especially not immediately, but I have to start somewhere, and this is where I am starting.

Many people desire to bring goodness to the world, but struggle with the bringing part. Activism begins with self-awareness of one’s values, which blossoms into allowance of those values to colour other aspects of life: I’ve shared with my family my sensitivity towards the environment and we’ve worked together to recycle more and begin composting. Turning off lights when we leave the room and only turning on those we need in the first place is a start. I’ve made the effort to unplug my stereo that has a sitting light when I leave my room and the computer when I leave the house. Now, responsiveness is mere habit, a part of my pulse impelling me to pick up garbage in my neighbourhood and run less hot water in the shower. Another meaningful alteration in a person’s routine is conscious consumerism. The simple question, “Do I need this?” can save needless junk-building and trash pileup, though the way in which we consume has impact too. Declining plastic bags for small items and bringing my own vinyl bags for big shops is one choice I routinely make that reflects my beliefs, in addition to using my own tumblers to purchase hot beverages and keeping an eye open for fair-trade and Product (Red)TM labels, signifying companies’ pledge to direct some profit towards fair wages and HIV/AIDS relief, respectively. Little steps aren’t life changing but mind shaping, which I believe is essential as we all come together to do our part for global stewardship.

My foggy brain tries to fight through the blaring noise of my alarm clock, but today is different. My school leadership group and I are organizing a fundraiser for the SPCA. We want to collect money in one week, so we thought of penny Monday, nickel Tuesday, dime Wednesday, quarter Thursday, and loonie/toonie Friday. Every time I walk into a classroom to collect money from students, I smile inside. I am showing the younger children, how our actions no matter how small, can make a difference. In one short week, we were able to raise a total of $250.00. Today we are going to present the cheque to the SPCA at our school. At lunch time, two SPCA representatives arrive with the friendliest dog I ever met, Trooper. He is the dog featured in the paper because he was almost starved to death by his owner. Today, Trooper wags his tail and is healthy and happy. Seeing Trooper transformed really shows me how our small donation can really make the difference in the life of an animal. We were giving hope to animals who have been abused or abandoned by their owners. We were helping these extraordinary animals live a strong, healthy life.
One of the best actions you can do to make a difference in the world is to help out in the life of an animal. If everyone in the world does something kind for one another each day the world would be a better place with more laughter and love. And isn’t that what we all hopelessly dream about? Instead of dreaming make it happen today.

‘Making a difference’ is a huge theme in society in this day and age. Everyone is expected to do their part in fighting for out world. But, in complete honesty, I don’t do much day-to-day. I’m nothing special, and neither are any of you. Sure, maybe some of us go to protests and things like that, but some of us are really just a waste of space at this moment. As far as we know, a human’s purpose in life is still a mystery. No one really knows what they were truly ‘meant to do’. I think that alone, none of us can really do much, in the end. But together is a completely different story.
I make a difference by riding the bus instead of driving everywhere. I have energy-saving light bulbs, I turn the lights off when I leave a room. These things, these little things are what qualify as ‘making a difference’, but they are things you do alone. Saving the world is bigger than that. It’s bigger than all of us. With the help of others, we can achieve so much more. In the words of Albus Dumbledore, ‘We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.”
We can create something better in this world that we all share. We were meant to live for so much more. Together, we can make a true difference.

What do I do to make a difference in the world? Honestly, nothing. I know I’m supposed to say that I help out after school, donate to charity, or recycle. But I never do. Well, not of my own accord, at least. My parents do the recycling, my friends do the volunteering, and I’m the one sitting at home with my tuba or trumpet and a heap of sheet music. The one who saves all my money for a sousaphone and won’t give any to charity. I know I seem selfish, but that’s who I am. It’s probably better that I don’t help out, however, I would probably manage to mess up the simplest things. I don’t change the world, and maybe by not changing the world, I will change the world. I’ll just have to wait and see, I suppose.

- Robin Brinkerink-Johnson

One layer of green material.

One layer of brown material.

Then, we lift the sliding gate to see how the compost has faired over the last two weeks. My teammates all grin gleefully as we shovel out some of the rich, school-made soil and scatter it along the garden dirt. We make sure to add more of the nutritious soil to the empty plots. Some of the sown patches already have soft green buds shivering out of the moist land. We also have a few mature stalks of leafy greens sprouting from the ground.

Our school's environmental club has been anticipating the arrival of spring since the start of our year. We've gotten a head start with some of the winter plantables, but we cannot wait until our school garden is well on its way. We have big plans of growing tomatoes, onions, and numerous more. I go to every gardening session I can because when I signed up to be a Green Team Exec, I envisioned an abundant harvest. I collect biodegradable material and I water our living project. I do my part because it is Green Team's collective goal to be able to donate fresh vegetables to the food bank this year.

With the flick of a switch and a surge of electricity, a darkened world shimmers with light. A glow projects through the shadows in an epic splendour. Such a simple feat, yet that one action makes it possible for all near to see. That moment in time allows a waterfall of colour to pour into the twinkling eyes of all able to perceive their surroundings. Could something as simple as flicking a switch truly bring about a difference in brightening this world?
I flick a switch, an uncomplicated notion that triggers an electricity that can really travel. It flows from one being to the next in an unorganized, yet effective, system. A grapevine twisting and turning, it attaches to anyone able to stabilize it. This whimsical action can be done without a great deal of contemplation. It begins with a curl of the lips, a smile.
Common and often taken for-granted, this human ability, is a power each person contains. An effortless way people can embark on transforming the Earth, sending out positive energy into the midst of it. The beauty of smiles is in that pure, positive, force. Contagious, they have the capability to switch the shadiest night within a person’s heart into a lustrous day. It must be admitted, an elated world is a serene world, a place where no one devises to do wrong. Glimpsing that beam of light sparkle can accomplish that. With a smile we can each impact this world and genuinely make a difference.

Every time humans communicate, usually only less than 80% of the desired information is sent to the receiver because there are countless meanings that can’t be put into speech. So even if you talk with a friend, some misunderstandings may happen. You can expect even less from strangers. Conflicts occur often due to miscommunication, and they evolve from snowballs to avalanches which become unstoppable. While they are nice, the world doesn’t necessarily need saints or love, as people can’t force themselves to like someone detestable or sacrifice their whole lives taking care of unfortunate people. We’re human, and we deserve to pursue our own happiness. Some cycles of hatred are irreversible, for example a couple I know who are now divorced because they both suspected each other of cheating, while defending themselves by denying each other’s accusations. Who knows if either of them had cheated at all? Maybe they weren’t meant for each other. I differentiate by staying indifferent against carelessly tossed insults, control my emotions and choose my words carefully because they are powerful weapons that can hurt everyone. People are more fragile than we believe, even if they look unharmed outside after an insult or attack, inside they could be upset. Also I do what I want to make myself happy because that’s honesty towards oneself. Honesty towards others is more important but I don’t go overboard trying to make myself clear because I can’t explain everything; as humans aren’t the ideal telepathic race from Wyndham’s ‘The Chrysalids’.