Youth today are encouraged to do something positive for society, especially in light of some of the negative things that young people are associated with. In the case of Jamaica, these negative things include crime, violence and lack of respect for one's surroundings or country.
To what degree should one be the change in one's society? Many may ask this question. In my opinion, being the change can be anything as long as it makes a positive difference in the society that one lives in. Whether it is spending an hour at the local community center reading to the blind or advocating environmental issues in your school or community; both activities involve doing something positive that can bring about change.
In my own little attempt to be the change, I focus on youth and development and how to empower and teach them about the importance of volunteering. I have mobilized a group of young people who have a love for the environment and who want to be the change in Jamaica’s urban society by advocating environmental issues and engaging in action projects such as environmental restoration. I am mobilizing these young people in an attempt to revive an organization that had meaning, which had a purpose - an organization that was too good to be discarded.
I am being the change in my society, in some little way, even though the whole of Jamaica or the world may not know what I am doing. I am making the best of what life has to offer and making use of the talents that God gave me to make a difference in my small but still ‘large’ country. I will end with the lyrics of Sam Cooke’s song: “It's been a long time coming but I know a change is gonna come”.
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