TED ANTALYA COLLEGE / 10-A
The
COMMITTED
Change
Serdil TOSUN ‣
The verb change is defined by“ to make( something) other than what it was, cause to turn or pass from one state to another”. Change is a process that is powerful but unpredictable. It disrupts the comfort of what was previously existent in exchange for something that’ s not a hundred percent certain. We fear discomfort and uncertainty so much that we ignore the power of collective change.
Today, in our age and day, one thing that really matters is change itself. With the major environmental and social issues pressing forward, we are at a turning point each second. The IPCC warns that more than half of the world’ s population could be living in water-stressed areas by 2050. Last year saw the highest number of state-based conflicts since 1946. Around 130 girls and women are killed by their loved ones every day. Global warming is at an all-time high and our resources are rapidly running out.
Yet, we sit still. We stand by and watch and just sulk as if we aren’ t the ones who can decide change. It is a hassle to start a transformation, requiring momentum from the initiator, so we avoid it.
But may I ask, how much longer? How many more generations until finally change is something that is impossible to ignore? How much longer until the damage that has been done is just so severe that even change starts to lose its power? For how long can we continue to be selfish and ignorant, letting everything ripple down under our feet, only to realize that the damage has all been done and we were in charge of it all along?
Because in the end“ Only when the last tree has been cut down, the last fish has been caught, and the last stream poisoned, will we realize we cannot eat money.”