"I Matter in Making a Difference"

I recently received a note from a young man who wrote a brief essay titled "I Matter in Making a Difference." When you wonder about the generation coming along, read this essay by Adam Harris to elevate your hope about the future.

I Matter in Making a Difference
by

Adam Harris

Everyday I wake up I feel like I have a new reason to live. This reason to live has not evolved because it never existed but it seems like there is a new spark that initiates this reason. This reason to live is not because I didn’t love life but it seems to give life more meaning. This reason to live has nothing to do with a personal or self infliction but a motivation and determination to make a difference. This reason to live has been sparked by the understanding that “I can and will make a difference.”

My mother once told me that hope deferred is long suffering. This suffering that takes place can consist of hardships, a phase of life, a problem in a relationship or even being submissive to the storms of life. It can even lead to life looking weary or a journey seeming fuzzy but when one can realize that he/she faces this psychological condemnation, one can make an attempt to exit and overcome.

Being a 20 year-old African-American male, attending The University of Michigan-Dearborn, I thought life finally made sense and there was nothing more to add. I figured I would receive my degree, choose a career and make a living for myself. Little did I know that one experience such as Alternative Spring Break through United Way for Southeastern Michigan and United Way for America would change my perspective on life.

This experience helped me realize the importance of giving back and the obligation that each member of society has to their community. It helped me understand that change can happen even on an individual level but even greater on a collective level, when people work together. It opened my mind to see that everyone has their own talents and skills, and once everyone comes together to make a difference, change will occur.

So you might ask yourself what matters in making a difference? I’ve come to understand that I matter, you matter and together we all matter in making a difference. United Way for Southeastern Michigan has shown me that my individual effort in Lake Charles, Louisiana mattered in making a difference. I now understand that I no longer have to wait for a community service initiative to carry out my obligation to my community. I now understand that I don’t have to wait until Spring Break comes back around to be involved and engaged in an alternative to make a difference. Lastly, I now understand that time continues to move and if I want to make a change, I must start now.

With this new reason to live, I no longer have to hope for change but have faith in change. By definition faith is a belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. I like to think of faith as the belief to sit in a chair, knowing that chair will hold and support your weight, dismissing the fact your body mass or weight. So with this faith, I’ve internalized within my conscious that I will make a difference and I do matter in mobilizing change. Martin Luther King Jr. said; “This faith can give us courage to face the uncertainties of the future. It will give our tired feet new strength as we continue our forward stride toward the city of freedom.”

So even though I know not what tomorrow has in store, I do know that I will play a part in making a difference. We must move forward knowing that we are the advocates for change and our destination rest upon our decisions. We have the power to break away from the psychological condemnation that holds us down, and the ability to preserve our community within. Alternative Spring Break 2007 has shown me this new vision and I will use that experience to foster my new reason to live.