What Would You Be...?
empowering women, families, and youth-at-risk through improved literacy, increased positive media, and tools for living.
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By Steven Zhou 2011
From the very beginning, I was taught to dream big, that I could do anything if I wanted to. At home, my toys immersed me in a world where I was king over a palace of little LEGO figures, or where I was the designer of a complex array of life in a miniature city. At school, my teachers guided me to dabble in a variety of different skills, and when I expressed interest in one of them, wholeheartedly pressed me to pursue that interest. While it’s true that “the sky’s the limit”, and that one should dream big, I have grown to find that such an attitude to life forgets the smaller, more important pieces. After all, the small puzzle pieces, when put together, make up the bigger picture; the most historically remembered achievements of people in the past were preceded by small steps taken by others. As such, if I had the money and ability to do so, I would focus all of my time on doing the little things, from being a counselor for others to working as a “backstage” administrator for charity groups.
In my opinion, the small things in life have been forgotten. In their quest to be the next Albert Einstein or Elvis Presley, people seem to be more and more willing to blow off their bonds of friendship, ignore the pleas of others for minor favors, and make choices to solely in the interest of their own success. If I had the means to, I would devote my life to filling in those gaps. My greatest interest is in the development of one-on-one bonds and working “backstage”. Rather than being the head of a large charity organization to send millions of dollars to those suffering in other countries, I would instead go to those villages myself, live among them, befriend them, and instill a hope and spirit in them so that they could go on to help themselves. Rather than making a groundbreaking new discovery in medicine to save thousands of lives, I would instead work as a counselor, developing close personal bonds to those suffering from more psychological problems, like depression or chronic confusion. Rather than being the star of a play, I would instead be the one organizing the practices, managing the sound and lighting systems, and working the backstage jobs.
This sort of life would undoubtedly be dangerous. Counseling or living with natives does not exactly bring in a steady income, and in the first place, could very likely not succeed. Forging close personal bonds to help inspire others to grow is extremely difficult. But if money was not an issue and I knew that I could not fail, then I would wholeheartedly chase such ideals.
I am not trying to say that chasing those “big dreams” is in any way bad. For some, doing the big things is their purpose in life. I fully respect great leaders like Martin Luther King Jr and George Washington, but I do not believe that that is the path for me. I would be content making up the small puzzle pieces, in the hope that the bigger picture is more beautiful and successful than anything else I could do on my own.
Steven Zhou, a junior at Miramonte, looks forward to writing for the real world (rather than AP tests), and using it to improve communication skills.
In my opinion, the small things in life have been forgotten. In their quest to be the next Albert Einstein or Elvis Presley, people seem to be more and more willing to blow off their bonds of friendship, ignore the pleas of others for minor favors, and make choices to solely in the interest of their own success. If I had the means to, I would devote my life to filling in those gaps. My greatest interest is in the development of one-on-one bonds and working “backstage”. Rather than being the head of a large charity organization to send millions of dollars to those suffering in other countries, I would instead go to those villages myself, live among them, befriend them, and instill a hope and spirit in them so that they could go on to help themselves. Rather than making a groundbreaking new discovery in medicine to save thousands of lives, I would instead work as a counselor, developing close personal bonds to those suffering from more psychological problems, like depression or chronic confusion. Rather than being the star of a play, I would instead be the one organizing the practices, managing the sound and lighting systems, and working the backstage jobs.
This sort of life would undoubtedly be dangerous. Counseling or living with natives does not exactly bring in a steady income, and in the first place, could very likely not succeed. Forging close personal bonds to help inspire others to grow is extremely difficult. But if money was not an issue and I knew that I could not fail, then I would wholeheartedly chase such ideals.
I am not trying to say that chasing those “big dreams” is in any way bad. For some, doing the big things is their purpose in life. I fully respect great leaders like Martin Luther King Jr and George Washington, but I do not believe that that is the path for me. I would be content making up the small puzzle pieces, in the hope that the bigger picture is more beautiful and successful than anything else I could do on my own.
Steven Zhou, a junior at Miramonte, looks forward to writing for the real world (rather than AP tests), and using it to improve communication skills.
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