Accept. Act. Accelerate.

Around halftime of a football game a commercial came on that showed the chain effect of one, small act of kindness. This thirty second commercial briefly motivated me to try to do the same as the man portrayed in the commercial; perform one act of kindness, which would be followed by a chain of people paying it forward. I was excited to try to make a difference the way the man in the commercial did. However, even after some amount of success, I stopped caring. Until I saw the commercial again the following Sunday. I then wondered why this excitement of helping others only lasted for a short amount of time. Many people have said the same words I said; "I want to make a difference". However, they either stop caring after a brief amount of time or they carry on with their lives and often don't give it a second thought. Perhaps, this is because they see themselves as too small, or don't know where to start, or even simply don't care enough. I believe, however, that people act this way because they are missing the big picture. People make helping others about themselves and get bored when they don't recieve the accolade they believe they deserve. Angela Maiers wrote an article that teaches those who truly want to make a difference, how to make a difference. The article also helps people realize the big picture of showing others that they matter.

In Angela Maiers' article, "People Know They Matter When", she begins with a simple and easy task; simply letting people know they are recognized. Even if the person is a stranger, it is still simple to perform this task. Her next step in making people realize they matter is to genuinely listen. After listening attentively, ask a sincere question. This tells the person that what they said was relevant and interesting. Maiers lists several other ways to make people know they matter such as celebrating them, doing small acts of kindness, simply believing in them, and other simple yet effective things.

The people that follow the steps described in Maiers' article are truly the people that make the world go around. If these people didn't exist, the world would be a society focused solely on itself. One place that demonstrates the applications of Maiers' article is Skyview Academy High School.  Skyview Academy differs from the typical high school in a number of ways. One way it differs is through the way each student treats other students. At Skyview Academy students know the names of all the other students and acknowledge them as they walk past in the hallway. Students at Skyview Academy might even sit down at lunch and have a conversation with someone they never talked to before. This is because of the confidence that has been instilled in them by other students. The majority of students at Skyview Academy help other students realize they matter. Those students, in return, make others realize they have importance and eventually it circles back around into an interminable cycle.

The argument can be made that students at Skyview Academy only act this way because they feel comfortable in the environment in which they are accustomed. However, I believe that because of their welcoming and hospitable personalities, students at Skyview Academy would act the same way outside of the school as they do while in their comfort zone. If students at Skyview Academy carry these attributes into the real world, people will begin to see a difference and the chain effect portrayed in the commercial on tv will come off the screen and be put into effect in actuality, blessing and transforming the lives of others.

Cultural Shifts

Winston Churchill said, "To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often". Churchill was right on the money when he said that. Throughout history, those who change and improve are successful and those who remain stagnant fail. Technology has arguably advanced more in the past ten years than it has in any other decade in human history. One of the attributes of these advancements is the improvement of communication.

While the invention and improvement of cell phones is the unambiguous change in communication technology, there are many other changes that have started this revolution. The advancements in communication technology have enabled people to talk more frequently and communicate with each other even if they are on opposite ends of the earth. These ideas have been possible for a rather long time. However, in the past decade, people have been enabled to send an email while sitting on the hot sand in the desert, or talk face to face with a person 1,000 miles away. Social media such as Facebook or Twitter has given people the opportunity to share their life with the world all with one click of a button. Communication technology over the past ten years has had the greatest effect on the world than almost anything ever before.

As Winston Churchill said, "To improve is to change"; the world did just that through the advancement of communication. Because of these changes, people can communicate with one another with ease on the screen of a phone, computer, tablet, and many other devices.