Who dictates what ‘a change in the world’ looks like, and what does that change even represent? Of course, there is the dictionary definition: ‘make (someone or something) different; alter or modify’, but in the end, ‘change’ is what an individual makes of it. Even if I have a certain idea of change, someone across the world might think something completely different. Also, what exactly could one single teenage girl do to make a huge difference in this world? The answer is: not a lot. Not completely individually, at least, but one person can spread the word, and then one person will become two, then ten, then a hundred, and so on. So that addresses the first half of the prompt. Then there’s the question of ‘what type of change am I allowed to write about?’ When I first read the prompt and drafted my response, I had quite a few questions. For one, what exactly am I allowed to write about? What kind of change? Can it be a bit fantastical? Or should the change be something realistic? Does it have to be just one? Any sort of change I could, and would (depending on the circumstances), make would be gradual. No big world-and-life-impacting change can be done with the snap of my fingers. The abolition of slavery, the fight for gender equality, and the fight for rights for minorities in general, all of these took painstaking amounts of time. My realistic change would be based on these sorts of issues, and it wouldn’t be a straight change. My idea of a change that I would work for is just an extension of the changes listed above. I would like to keep pushing for more rights, and equality; because even though on paper, not all of the changes above are solidified. In a lot of people’s minds, being white is still superior to being colored, and being gay is an atrocity. Then comes the more fantastical change, and by ‘fantastical’, I just mean something that’s either not likely to happen, or if it does happen, will take at least a few more centuries. This change would work with the more realistic one but would also address the mindset problem. I’d like to change the way people think of others, whether they be a different color, a different gender, a different religion, or even a different sexuality. This change would improve the open-mindedness people need to have moving forward, and not only would it improve the state of our being in just our countries, but I believe it would also create a bit more peace worldwide. Think of it this way: if we all, as individual countries, were able to accept the people in our countries for being unique, then we’d probably have a good shot at thinking the same of people in countries other than our own. Honestly, this change would still have problems to work around, because even if we’re able to improve our mindsets in this country, there’s no saying how long it would take for others. Hopefully though, (because a lot of changes require both effort, time, patience, and hope), it might one day become a reality, and not just a ‘fantastical’ dream of change.

Throughout my life, I’ve been a part of not one, not two, not even three, but five or more communities that have left a lasting impression on my life. Whether it be from the time I was only three years old and placed in foster care, or five years old and adopted, to spending about four years of my life in and out of group homes, hospitals, youth shelters, mental hospitals, and a great deal of therapy sessions, I have been through many situations and met many people whose words and actions guide me today. It is because of the time I spent in those different places, with those different people, that I have come to stand where I am today. When I was younger, like all kids my age did at the time, I changed the idea of my ‘dream job’ constantly. The first ‘profession’ that I remember ever wanting to have was a princess- I was three then. As time passed, I changed it again and again, one day wanting to be a doctor and another day wishing I was a sweets shop owner. I even made a menu and a layout for the store. Then came my days in and out of a countless number of different mental health treatment facilities, and, as a result of being in those places, I wanted to be a therapist. After that, when I went back to school, I wanted to be a teacher. Subsequently, I spent three months in Asia with my family, and saw the lack of education, especially in the poorer countries, and that led me to want to teach in those countries. That goal has remained with me, and hasn’t changed yet; I’m already applying to college with that goal in mind. The point of all that is this: everywhere I’ve been, and everything I’ve done and seen so far, has led me to this point in life, and while I’m only eighteen, it has been far from easy or simple. One thing that all the careers above have in common is the ability it comes with to help people. In every single occupation listed above, whether it be realistic or not, there is a way to use those careers to help. I know, because of my experiences, that wanting to help and make a change in the world is going to help guide me to whichever career I do end up pursuing.

My mouth often fails to clearly verbalize my thoughts, instead fumbling between the things I want to say aloud but shouldn't and the things I intended to say but couldn’t. Since words can be used as bandages to heal, weapons to hurt, or both, I’m constantly reminded by family and friends to take caution with my language. Yet this is advice I often pretend to forget, actually forget, or spurn. When I speak, nothing seems to go the way I intended it to. However, when it comes to writing, my words flow from pen to paper freely and attractively, and they seem almost to float off the page and linger in the air, wrapping my reader in a comfortable and warm embrace that never seems to let go. I’ve been complimented numerous times on my poetry, which I excel at; my stories, which I often find hard to finish; and my essays, which I struggle with containing the number of words to a minimum or even addressing the prompt correctly. I enjoy writing poetry, lyrics for a song, short stories, fanfiction, essays, and vignettes. I’ve put my writing into assignments for classes and have even had multiple requests for poems and short essays as gifts for a friend. Recently, however, I came to the realization that the problem I have with my words combined with an issue in choosing my words at certain times leads me to no good and a lot of pain. Whether it be speaking aloud or physically marking it on the paper, I often have a hard time remembering to think ahead of how my words will come across. To be clear, the problem I have with words isn’t exactly choosing them or even making them come out; the complication is the timing and the mood, which I’m constantly misreading. These issues, I continue to bleed onto a piece of paper to collect and store because if I don’t, they’ll float away from me and leave my memory altogether. Personally, I love writing and reading because it’s just one of my many outlets of imagination, a creative escape from the mundane world we call reality. Whether it be naming a character, creating a poem on the spot, or mimicking a certain author’s style of writing, I can always find fun in any type of creative writing. The words I fail to expel from the confines of my vocal chords, I sing onto a canvas, and with that, I’m able to properly convey my message.