How I Do My Part to Create a Safer, More Caring World

How I Do My Part to Create a Safer, More Caring World

I grew up with a father who struggled with alcoholism. It was a huge unspoken part of my life for a long, long time. It still is, honestly. He often prioritized his addiction over my younger brother and me; it was gut-wrenching. Looking back, I realized how often that prioritization came in the form of driving while intoxicated. While now I am old enough to 1) drive myself and 2) recognize when my father is unfit to be with my brother and me. I have set boundaries in order to keep myself and my brother safe. Unfortunately, I see a trend of carelessness like my father’s in fellow drivers, drivers who forget that every time they take a seat behind the wheel, a huge responsibility sits on their shoulders. That responsibility is often lost on a sixteen-year-old excited to take himself to cheer practice for the first time. That responsibility is often lost on a businesswoman late for an important interview. But that responsibility is something that remains each and every time we buckle up.

Every day I get in my car to drive to school. I subject myself to the decisions of the careless drivers around me. I have no other choice. There is no boundary I can set to avoid drivers addicted to their phones, and neither can you. This almost feels as helpless as the situation I was in years ago with my father. Yet, I have done my best to come to terms with this helplessness and am doing what I can to deal with it. What I can do is lead by example.

I believe drivers text and distract themselves in other ways out of sheer carelessness. There’s not much more to it, and we can’t force people to care for each other. We see the same thing when people refuse to wear a piece of cloth over their face to protect their neighbor from a disease that has killed thousands in the past year. The only thing we can do is lead by example. We must first be caring people ourselves before we expect others to care for us. It is completely a two-way street – pun intended. I choose to believe that each little thing I do positively can impact someone else, get us one step closer to a better world, or inspire someone else to spring into action, rather than let another opportunity to spark joy pass them by. We are busy people, running way too fast. I just wish we’d stop to help each other out once in a while, show some consideration once and a while. Even the smallest action can have a huge effect. You have no idea which of your slightest gestures could change someone’s mindset or brighten their day. Everything we do today has an effect on tomorrow.

There is so much wrong in the world that it can be incredibly overwhelming when we begin to go about fixing it. So many of us often become discouraged when we realize the little impact we have in the grand scheme of things. Yet, if we all take the easy way out and believe we are powerless, we truly become powerless. You and I both know that we are only as impactful as we choose to be. We need to stop looking at all the people who aren’t doing their part to improve our world. Stop letting their lack of action discourage our own drive. Change starts little by little. Someone has to start somewhere. It might as well be you or I.

In doing my part to create a kinder, more caring community, I am working towards creating a more caring world for all of us. Imagine what a different world it would be if we all did our part to make it just a little bit better. Feeding the hungry, giving shelter to the homeless, speaking out about injustice, and cleaning up after ourselves are all things that could contribute to a more harmonious world for all of us to live in and in turn, serve our communities. These little acts of care have the potential to make this a safe, more pleasant world for all of us. This is all we can do to regain a bit of control over this situation that seems so helpless.