You Are Not That Important

From the time we were born, we have been told that we are special. We have been told we can be whatever we want. The truth is that there are 6.7 billion people in this world. In 1988, when I was born, there were 5.1 billion people in the world. A 20 percent increase in the world population since I was born. Now, I've never seen 7 billion of anything so it is hard to conceive that many unique individuals in existence. People live and people pass away. Most people won't even know when you pass away.

Where am I going with this? Well, in today's society we are obsessed with things that make us feel important. For instance, many people are now using twitter, but why? Perhaps for a good laugh. Maybe to keep up with old friends. I would like to propose that the fascination with twitter and other social media sites is it forces others to take notice of your thoughts and daily activities. Status updates, tweets, and wall posts are just a way of getting your opinion or thoughts out to your social circle. You would never hear anyone say directly to you half of the things they tweet or put on their status. In all honesty, no one gives a damn if you "raged last night" or if you are studying or your opinion on anything. It's those that are close to you that really care.

This seems pretty drab, but my point is coming around. In 1776, there were about 2.5 million Americans and 800 million in the world. You have less of an opportunity to matter to society now than ever before. The odds are, you will never be important. Here is the catch. No one's opinion alone is important. After all, opinions have no clout unless others agree and exchange the information. It is all about the small interactions you have everyday with the people that are important in your life. This chain of interactions is what causes the real movements in the world. There must always be a leader, someone that seems to be the important one. Truly, it is everyone of us in this huge network of nobodies. Throw your conceit out the window and make the changes you seek through the people you meet everyday. You don't have to be a Martin Luther King Jr. or an Albert Einstein to take part in changing the world.

And when you look back on life, like looking back after you climbed a mountain. You will remember each step you took along the way, not the fact that you actually made it to the top.

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