Armando Montano
The Paw Print
As the end of the year is coming quickly, the decade is also coming to a close. From the beginning of 2000 to the end of 2010, all of us can look back and realize just how much the world has changed in these past 10 years alone. For many, the decade was a time of transition, growing into themselves from child into teenager into adult. It is safe to say that this past decade has showcased the height of human intelligence in manufacturing, health, science and technology; all contributing to a far better living standard than has ever been offered to so many in the history of the world.
So, as the decade closes and looks further into the twenty-first century, we must start asking, “What now?” We are intelligent, capable human beings bettering ourselves through education in fleets across the nation. Each and every one of us is moving into the future at the same pace and has or will have the ability to make an impact on the world around us. This may sound redundant or repetitive to many of you; since high school or middle school the idea of the world being our oyster or the sky as the limit has been a common mantra among councilors and coaches alike. Many of us hardly ever reflect on the impact these people were trying to have on us. For any that has heard these words before and no longer associates any real inspiration with them anymore, perhaps a new call to action is in order.
For the past decade, the American lifestyle has inflated into a very user-friendly manifestation. Unlike any other period in history, information, education and resources for our basic requirements of living have never been so accessible to everyone. That is what we as a human culture in the first part of the twenty-first century have been able to bestow upon ourselves. So what now? Now we need to move to realization. We were told that the opportunity is there. We were told that we are capable of anything we want to do. We were told that the sky is the limit and the world is our oyster. Now we need to believe in it. Start using the potential we believed we possessed to come out and really prove that there is nothing like what we are capable of doing once we put our minds to it. From every level of thinking, from every tier of society and culture – as world citizens, as Americans, as residents, as students, as future citizens, as a current citizen – every person needs to really put themselves in the future. And actually, the future they want to be in. As we look into the rest of the oncoming twenty-first century, each one of us needs to see that the period of preparation, like this decade, is coming to a close and action is to follow.
It will not be easy, but we are intelligent, capable human beings fully able to be the change we want to see in this world.
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