I was in my eighth grade science class when my teacher, Mr. Marsh, put an image on the board. “Can anyone tell me what this image is?” he asked the class, but nobody answered. How could we? The picture projected on the board was just a small dot on a black background. After a few failed guesses, my teacher chuckled and the whole class, including myself, looked at him in confusion. What was so funny about a small blue circle? “The image I’m showing you is the longest distance picture ever taken of Earth. We are a small blue dot in an ever expanding universe.”

If you have been watching the news recently, you have most likely seen that there has been more bad news than good. It is extremely unfortunate that our world is so divided, and it may be a bit discouraging to many people, especially the younger generation who are going to have to live in the consequences of decisions made by world leaders. Why do we fight though? Why is there such a horrible word called war? There are many reasons for war, but before we go pointing fingers at people, let’s consider this:

We are the only known intelligent living beings in our universe! That’s amazing, isn’t it? Humans are incredible creatures who are capable of causing destruction, but are also capable of feeling. Of loving. Of caring. Of creating peace. Whether it be the work of a greater force or the works of a scientific theory, the world was not created in one day. Peace takes time, but it is possible! It takes effort from everyone, and it may seem a bit scary because change can be a bit strange! However, imagine a world with peace, no fighting, no hunger, no loss of innocent lives. We can accomplish peace, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but with focus and effort, it will be a reality one day.

My assignment for you, the reader, is to give a smile to someone who you believe needs one. A smile can not only make someone happy, but inspire them to give someone else a smile. Soon enough, a whole city could be filled with smiles! Peace takes time, but it can start with you. Never doubt your abilities, because in the future, you can be the reason the world has changed.