quick memo: i am a new member here, and I don't know if this is the right forum to post this topic...so if not, i am very sorry....i am also sorry if this is a little bit rambling too.

It's Sunday morning and I'm sitting in a black band tee shirt and soccer shorts at the breakfast table sulking about how I can't convince my parents to give me an ipod. A colored picture in the "Washington Post" catches my eye. I pick it up and my eyes land on a headline that screams :"Children of Sudan's Cattle Camp". There is a picture of two young boys with a large bull with impressive horns. I'm interested and begin to start reading. As I read the article, my sulleness vanishes to be replaced with respect for the youth in Sudan.

They tell me about a typical work day for a ten year old boy whose name is Bakic Magol who is a cattle handler. I read about how they coat themselves with the ashes of burned cow dung to ward off bugs, I wince at how they gather up dry cow dung to flatten it and set it on fire. I read about how the young women want to go into the local town to marry 'town boys' in 'smart tan uniforms'. And through out me reading this article, I open my eyes.

After I finish reading it, I fold the newspaper and lean back in my chair; thinking. Suddenly all my worries about how much a piece of canvas is going to cost, how I'm going to cope with starting high school fly out the window. It strikes me, that all my whims are silly and stupid compared to what the children of Sudan are doing. My brain is filled with thoughts like:

"my friends sound like such brats when they come crying to me just because they weren't invited to so and so's party."

"who cares if I get an ipod or not, I have food, clothing, shelter and I'm getting a full education".

"my god, there are children over there who are the SOLE breadwinners for their families...."

"i'm a lazy ass"

Suddenly, I begin to feel very guilty. All I've been saying is "i want this, I want that" and nothing else. Bakic Magol only wants a pair of trousers being able to go to school. He gets up at the crack of dawn, while I'm eating my breafast at eleven like a typical teenager. I want to do something about this, I want to yell out to the neighbors "HEY, DO YOU KNOW THAT THERE ARE SUDANESE YOUTH WORKING ON A CATTLE FARM FROM THE CRACK OF DAWN?!?!" But I can't. I wish I could do something to help the situation there. I want to do a lot of things. I want to be wonder woman, a noble peace prize winner and an artist all at once. But I can't.

The only thing that I can start doing, is pitching around my house a little bit more, to get some work done. So I turn to my mother who is wrapping up breakables in bubble wrap and say:
"I would be happy to help you pack up some of our things today" and smile.

Good start on making a difference! And no, I'm not being snarky - I mean it. Small steps are easier to walk than a major one, like, "Hey, Mom - I'm going to Sudan to help out!" That can wait for when you have a college degree.

Notice something. You read an article, and it changed you. Changing the world for writers is easy: write. Something grabs you, write about it. Research it, write it, publish it, and you'll reach people. That person who wrote the article doesn't know it changed you, opened your eyes, and had no idea if it would make any difference at all, but they wrote what they saw, and it made a difference.

I've been reading about Eastern Europe in 1989 right now. Writers changed the world over there. They were the ones who stood up against corruption and police states. They were the ones who kept the world informed of their predicament. Also, quite a few of them ended up in office - Vaclav Havel became President of Czechoslovakia, and he's a playwright. Words have power. Art has power. If you want to change the world, it's easy - put pen to paper or brush to canvas and tell the world what you see.

Good luck!