<p>If you truly want to make a difference in the world, do your very best at tending whatever tiny “plot of land” is yours. Go to school. Major in something that you have a passion for, or at least something that interests you. Don’t worry too much about whether or not it is the perfect choice. Twenty years after they graduate most people aren’t working at anything directly connected to their college major.</p>
<p>Take care of your loved ones. Marry for the right reasons, treat your spouse with love and respect. Have children, if that’s something you and your spouse want to do. Raise them with love, respect, and reasonable expectations. </p>
<p>Take care of your home, your possessions, your finances. Stay out of debt. </p>
<p>Greet the world with joy every day. Try to pay it forward. Help out your friends and neighbors. Don’t litter.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about great accomplishments. If you manage to to all of the above you will have done more for the world than most people on earth.</p>
<p>I went through OP’s issue, in late hs and early college- I think many people do. It’s about not getting lost in the herd of average folks, average here meaning do-little.</p>
<p>Something in this is relevant, from another thread. Hope OP is around to read it. <a href=“Redefining Success and Celebrating the Unremarkable - The New York Times”>Redefining Success and Celebrating the Unremarkable - The New York Times;
<p>“…fear of our own insignificance, a subset of our dread of mortality…come to love accolades…” Ok, taken out of context.</p>
<p>I also still don’t think this is about major or career or empowering himself to write. It’s about feeling significant. But, how can a young person understand the myriad ways we impact the lives of others? Isn’t this torment centuries old?</p>
<p>First of all, understand that you don’t have to be a household name to change the world in a significant, positive way. I am always surprised when I hear people talk about something that inspired them to change their lives–an act of kindness from a stranger, a “It Gets Better” video, someone to talk to when they’re feeling down.</p>
<p>Second, I don’t think it’s a bad thing to want to change the world in a bigger way than “being a good person who provides for their family”. Not that it’s a bad thing to be that either, but if you want to do more than that, go for it! Again, this does not mean you have to study something you don’t really like, like engineering, or be a household name. I recommend looking at non-profit groups; some of them help people in the US, some of them help people abroad. There are tons of them, with many different positions available in them. Study what you’re interested in and I’m sure you can find a non-profit to work for, though their work is not always easy. Or if you don’t want to do that, get a “regular” 9-to-5 job and volunteer at something in your spare time.</p>
<p>Third, you obviously enjoy playing with language, so why not develop and explore that? Your writing style is rather overblown right now, but that is simply because of your age and lack of experience in writing. If you work hard and take constructive criticism to heart, you can turn your current, rather tortured metaphors into a really interesting, unique style. If you decide to go this route, the best advice I can give you is READ, READ, READ and WRITE, WRITE, WRITE. You cannot become a good writer without writing a lot of drek first.</p>
<p>^Going to agree with Naturally. Put down the thesaurus. The best writers write simply.</p>