Change the world
In July 2015, I attended a three-week-long program in Chicago called the Civic Leadership Institute (CLI), hosted by Northwestern University. Toward's the end of the course, I had to write a letter to myself detailing what I had learned. The letter was crude and not proofread; I had actually asked my instructor if I could rewrite the entire letter, but time ran out, so I had to submit the "draft" letter.
As a junior in high school, stressful times have come and gone, and my mind tends to reprioritize things, shove things out of the way, forget things. Right after I finished CLI, I wanted to write a blog post expressing everything that I had learned, but I could never find the time or the motivation to properly articulate it. The post was never written. The Civic Education Project, the organization that runs CLI, kept the letter – the one I had written for myself – and said they would actually mail it out to me sometime in the next year. That time has come. Yesterday – more than half a year since the camp ended – I got that letter, crudeness and all. Despite the occasional lapse in linguistic or rhetorical precision, I am excited to share what I had written:
As a junior in high school, stressful times have come and gone, and my mind tends to reprioritize things, shove things out of the way, forget things. Right after I finished CLI, I wanted to write a blog post expressing everything that I had learned, but I could never find the time or the motivation to properly articulate it. The post was never written. The Civic Education Project, the organization that runs CLI, kept the letter – the one I had written for myself – and said they would actually mail it out to me sometime in the next year. That time has come. Yesterday – more than half a year since the camp ended – I got that letter, crudeness and all. Despite the occasional lapse in linguistic or rhetorical precision, I am excited to share what I had written:
Dear Future Michael Zeng,
It's me. On the third to last day of the Civic Leadership Institute summer program. Throughout the past three weeks, I have, without a doubt, felt grateful for this unique and rare opportunity to be exposed to the various social issues that still plague the world around us. In my personal statement I submitted to receive admission to this program, I vocalized my fascination with how far we as one human race has achieved with regards to science, discovery and exploration. But what I realized was the fact that not everyone has the opportunity to participate and engage in this wonderful human progress. My experience at CLI has further solidified this for me. Social injustice, poverty, inequality, prejudice, and discrimination do indeed still riddle every nook and cranny of this planet. My hope that I expressed in my personal statement was to learn how to be a part of that force that makes a difference in the world. I am so incredibly grateful and humbled to say that CLI has indeed satisfied that for me.
It starts with taking on an alternative approach to tackling the various social issues. It's about community. Your local community, your school's community, your online community, your national community, and the global community. Every community has its own set of challenges it must overcome as it continues to develop. The approach that seems most obvious for an outsider is a needs-based approach. There are potholes on the street so we have to fill them. There is trash everywhere so we need better littering control. Lots of crime, so let's focus only on that for now. While the needs-based approach to community development has its place, it is not the most effective approach. CLI has taught me that one of the best ways to lead and direct a community is to take a step back and focus on what the community does have, over what it lacks. It's called asset-based community development, and it is best summarized by the analogy to a glass halfway filled. A needs-based approach views the glass as half empty; the asset-based approach sees it as half full. Use what's there in the community and take advantage of the assets to better develop it. Maintain this view in daily life beyond CLI.
Also in my personal statement I talked about how I'm supposed to ensure that the eyes of all are opened, and how we as a collective human race can work together to make changes. CLI has opened my eyes to just how far we as humans are separated by our differences. While this may feel disheartening, never forget that we are all one people—one humanity. As CLI has repeated over again, help others in solidarity. One person suffering is a threat to the well being of all of humanity.
Above all else—setting everything else aside, and if there is nothing else I want to take away from this program—remember that one person can make a difference. It starts with your community, as Alvaro Obregon said. The most effective way for you as an individual to do to change the world starts with your community and your daily actions.
Keep your head up. Change the world.
—Michael ZengWednesday, July 22, 2015