Making A Difference

Have you asked yourself that lately?

What's the point of going to your work? Do you do it to finance your hip lifestyle? Do you do it so that it'll help you better yourself in the future? Do you do it just to make yourself famous someday? Here's a question, what will it do to help someone, or better yet, help society?

Early in life, being raised in a family of leftists and revolutionary thinkers (and a few hippies here and there), I grew to learn how to think beyond personal needs, but for the betterment of all. I had this need to make a point and ensuring that that point was going to make an impact. I had a goal to help.

I've asked myself that when I left college. At first, taking a call center job waiting for my license (hoping against hope that I pass the boards) would pave the way for tomorrows party's and drinking sprees, yet problems that my family encountered steered me towards a question: How can I help?

Then I heard of this call center who helps the deaf community communicate via the phone and hell they paid good money for it. I found a wonderful 'helping' job that would help me and my family as well. Two birds, one stone, if you will.

I passed my boards, became a nurse, stood as the breadwinner of my family for a time, and finally an opportunity to become who I studied to be presented itself. I took on the challenge of capitalism and suffered through the ill-profiting racket of a private hospital in trying to become a nurse. And a nurse I became.

A year went be and money constraints fed through my dream of helping medically so I needed to leave the white walls of my nursing job. But I left for an NGO that was still in line with providing people security from hazards that hospitals engorged our sewers, lakes and garbage dumps with. I joined in this crusade, still driven by my passion in life of helping.

Here I was exposed to more than my childhood lessons with my relatives have provided. I learned to reach out to society in a larger scale. It was rough, tiring, mind-consuming, but it was worth it. Not to mention it had good pay compensating for your time and effort. But the point is, we were fighting the good fight. All these placards, campaign materials, forums, etc, were aiming to make a change for the better. And change is what we did.

Now as I pack and embark on a new frontier, as I search for myself yet in other, greener pastures, I will never leave my advocacy in a shelf just to be a well-fed sheep of some corporate slave driver. I will make a stand, and shoot a flock if I have too, with this tiny pebble given to me that I call me.

I will make a difference. How about you, have you asked yourself that question lately?