One Starfish

All throughout my life, I’ve always regarded sports as one of the most important things in my life. They’ve always been there, to a point where I’ve taken my skills for granted. However, in light of a changing world, I have come to realize that taking anything, much less your gifts, for granted is a titanic error.

The thing is in this world, you tend not to notice something, till its gone. I have learned that many times. I’ll use the example of my parents: Like most families, I grew up with both my parents there for me, and didn’t realize how lucky I was to have that, until two years ago, when my parents’ jobs caused them to separate, and ever since then even a dinner with both of them has become a rare occasion; one that I savor. Even when I am at home (wherever that is) I don’t see much of my family, with my sister being at college, and my mother’s and father’s jobs call upon them to work severe overtime.

If there was one thing I could change about the world, I would make people do just that, appreciate what they have, and think, just give a thought about all the good things they have. Their various talents, to have your family with you, to have a shoulder to lean on, people that care about them, or just a place to be educated. It is a sad fact that to more then half of the people on earth, their next meal is uncertain; a place to call home may be nonexistent, people working on farms, selling themselves, finding anyway to get by, with their family and loved ones. Think about that, and do something to help out. Support a charity, send clothes or food to drives, or just pray. A small difference to one person goes a long way.

Like in that Peace Corps commercial, where a young boy is walking down a beach, picking up starfish and throwing them back into the sea, so they don’t get washed up and die. His grandmother strides up to him and says “Oh Jimmie, there are so many miles of shore, and so many starfish. Do you really think you can make a difference?” Jimmie, keeping his eyes on the horizon picks up a starfish and throws it back in, and says softly, “I made a difference to that one.” The world needs more Jimmies.

Then think about the people around you. Are they like Jimmie? More importantly, are you like Jimmie? What kind of effect do you have on your peers? What kind of effect do you have on your teachers and adults around you? When you move on, will you be remembered or just fade away with time? Do you show your friends appreciation for their friendship? Show people closer to your heart appreciation for their love? A simple “Thanks” will go so far, and make an astounding difference to the people you deal with day in and day out.

Very few people realize that earth is too small to be considered a fraction of a speck of the smallest piece of dust, floating aimlessly through the vast universe. To some, it causes a feeling of belittlement, making them feel small and insignificant. In me, it sparks a feeling of being part of something much bigger, for it is inconceivable that nature would spend thousands of years on evolution to give us brains capable of thought, breaking through instinct, so we can just sit, live, and die, on this cold blue dot in a quiet corner of the Milky Way, which is just a discrete part of an expanding universe, which might just be a single quark making up an atom in a space that knows no boundaries. I think we are part