If I Could Change the World Essay: Examples & Writing Guide

To write an engaging “If I Could Change the World” essay, you have to get a few crucial elements:

Our specialists will write a custom essay specially for you!

  • What? How? Whom? When? Where?
  • The essay structure that determines where each answer should be;
  • Some tips that can make your writing unique and original.

Let us help you a bit and give recommendations for “If I Could Change the World” essays with examples. And bookmark our writing company website for excellent academic assistance and study advice.

  • 🗯 What Would You Change?
  • 💁‍♂️ How Would You Do It?

👉 Whom Would Your Changes Affect?

⏱️ when would you change the world, 🌎 where would you make changes, 📦 out-of-the-box thinking, 🤔 deep understanding, 🧠 an intelligible structure, 🗣️ excellent language.

  • 📝 Essay Example

✏️ Change the World Essay FAQ

🔗 references, 💡 if i could change the world essay: essential questions.

What do you think about the world we are all living in? The vast majority of people love their lives, being human, and living on the Earth. They may have no time to think about the world around them or notice that this world requires changes.

And do you have time to notice this? Do you believe that our world is no longer the best and safest place to live in? If you do and have some suggestions on how our world can be changed, you can write a good “If I Could Change the World” essay.

Start crafting your paper by considering these questions:

Just in 1 hour! We will write you a plagiarism-free paper in hardly more than 1 hour

If I could change the world essay questions.

Answering them will boost your imagination and help with outlining your essay. Besides, you may find something new about yourself and your mind.

🗯 If You Could Change the World, What Would You Change?

What do I want to change in the world? Start this essay with those particular things that you believe require fixing. We are sure you will not have difficulties with this point because the problems we face these days seem endless.

We’ve gotten used to having such problems, and many people are sure that nothing can ever change. But what if millions of people became more conscious and decided to make even a minor effort to solve just one problem? In that case, we would already live in a better place.

For example:

Why not mention global warming or air pollution? There are plenty of problems common to humanity that require our intervention, so essay writing about global issues is also a great opportunity to narrow down your topic.

Receive a plagiarism-free paper tailored to your instructions. Cut 20% off your first order!

Use your imagination and describe your great ideas in your essay about changing the world for better. You could build up a fantastic paper—or maybe even change the world.

💁‍♂️ How Would You Change the World?

What ways do you think would be the most effective to make necessary changes? Whose help might you need? You have to speculate, “How can I change the world?” for the essay.

You’ll have to use your imagination here again:

  • Delve deeper into the topic. List the ways, methods, or strategies you’d utilize to help the world we live in.
  • Make a list of these people or organizations.
  • Explain how they could contribute to achieving your aim.

For instance, you could consider involving global charities or celebrities to assist you on your path to a better world.

Would your changes influence society in the world? Or some particular groups of people would need them more than all the others?

Get an originally-written paper according to your instructions!

This is another exciting idea that you could develop in your essay. Give insight into whose lives your actions would change. For example, you could think of improving the lives of poor, hungry children in Africa or helping animals suffering from global warming.

Do you think that the problems you are talking about require immediate solutions? There are issues worldwide that can’t wait any longer and need to be changed urgently.

Why not discuss them?

Here’s an idea: Bring up a topic related to a pressing global health issue. For example, focus your main point on incurable diseases or infectious diseases that annually kill more than 17 million people .

In what part of the world would you change something?

It’s essential to touch on the location of your global changes. Are you audacious enough to implement your great ideas worldwide? Or would you be better off starting in a small area and eventually growing it into something on a larger scale?

Consider these ideas as well, and don’t forget to mention the location in your paper.

You can also read our article on world peace to learn more about current problems and issues that require changes.

✒️ If I Could Change the World Essay: Writing Guide

What are the criteria that guide your professor when evaluating your “If I Could Change the World” essay? Are there any one-size-fits-all characteristics you can safely incorporate to end up with a breathtaking paper?

There are! And knowing them will help you write more convincing essays that earn better grades.

If I could change the world essay tips.

Representing your original thinking as an author doesn’t mean that you have to invent something new or discover some unknown theory. Not to discourage you, but chances of doing that are pretty small.

Try writing a “changing the world” essay different from other students’ papers because of its original approach . You could look at things from an unusual angle or come up with a new hypothesis. Even the purpose of your writing can differ if you add creativity.

Your “If I Could Change the World” essay topic is a platform for unlimited imagination and original thinking. Go ahead and make the most of it!

A perfect essay about the world’s problems—just like any other essay—shows in-depth knowledge. Demonstrate the comprehension of all the facts, concepts, and issues you’re talking about. You also need to clearly understand why these ideas matter, both to you and your reader.

To end up with a fantastic “changing the world” essay, you should do the following:

  • Craft and polish a persuasive thesis, stating your position clearly.
  • Find credible sources to add quotes and value to your writing.
  • Use engaging, relevant facts for your arguments and central hypothesis.
  • Consider and analyze different viewpoints.
  • Summarize and synthesize data from various sources.
  • Double-check information that you’re uncertain about.
  • Write a reference list at the bottom of your essay.

Don’t forget to analyze and consider all points of view and include quotations from reputable sources.

The first and foremost thing to bear in mind when outlining your essay is that it should answer the following three questions:

Also, a high-quality essay contains all of the necessary parts of an academic paper:

  • Introduction : Starts with a hook that grabs the reader’s attention. Directs the reader, identifies the focus, and provides the context of the issue. Most importantly, it includes a thesis statement. If you struggle with this part, try to make use of a thesis statement generator .
  • Main body : Provides the argumentation for your thesis and supporting details. Includes quotes and other data that you’ve gathered. Every paragraph starts with a topic sentence and ends with a concluding one, tying the text together.
  • Conclusion : Restates and develops the thesis and summarizes the arguments. Gives the last impression on the reader, leaving the final thoughts in the concluding sentences. May include a call for action.

Your “If I Could Change the World” essay should have a consistent discussion and a balanced argument. Relevant facts and data should support all the points. The conclusion weighs your evidence and provides your final opinion about the paper’s central idea.

Your discussion should be smooth and effortless so that your readers feel like they are in safe hands. The sentences should be flowing naturally and logically from one to the other. The reader should understand everything from the first read. Do not deviate from your topic, or else the focus of your essay will be lost.

You should strive for flawless grammar, spelling, and punctuation, without mistakes or typos. To ensure its flawlessness, proofread your paper or ask someone to do it for you.

If I Could Change the World: Essay Topics

  • Can one person change the world?  
  • What can we do to eliminate the global violence ?  
  • How I would change animal rights and welfare laws .  
  • Helping homeless people is a critical task for humanity.  
  • Becoming a social service assistant is the best way to change the world.  
  • Creativity can change the world and make it a better place to live in.  
  • If I could change the world, I would destroy nuclear weapons .  
  • Can courage change the world when the cost is so great?  
  • We need to stop climate change to save the world.  
  • What I can do to save the world from global warming .  
  • The things I would do to eliminate gaming addiction from the world.  
  • I would save the Earth from destruction by making changes in an energy crisis .  
  • Why we should pay more attention to the overpopulation problem .  
  • Fighting inflation and unemployment is a way to change the world.  
  • What I can do today to help integration of children with special needs . 
  • Elimination of smoking will change the population’s health for the better.  
  • If we want to save the Earth, we should reduce air polution .  
  • The best career choice to change the world.  
  • If I could change the world, I would improve the humanity and nature relationship .  
  • The most important thing I would change about this world is the disease prevention level .  
  • Combat the growing trend of obesity to improve health in the community.  
  • Should we ban consumable plastics to save oceans wildlife?  
  • Using electric vehicles instead of gas cars will improve people’s life quality.  
  • Removing domestic violence and abuse is the thing I would do to change the world.  
  • What I would change to create an ideal society .  
  • Becoming a teacher is my way of improving schooling for young learners .  
  • How I would change the economic situation in modern Latin America .  
  • My plans on banning experiments on animals .  
  • Preparing effective tools to change the children’s world . 
  • We need to change the system to remove health disparities .  
  • What I would do to change the situation with alcohol abuse in the world.  
  • Racism is the global issue that requires an immediate change.  
  • The things that can be done to change the level of substance abuse among adolescents .  
  • If I could change the world, I would remove gender inequality from it.  
  • The solution to social problems within educational institutions is the change we should make in this world.  
  • What changes can we make to overcome the world poverty ? 
  • Why it’s important to resolve the global water crisis .  
  • The solution of immigrant problems is a step towards a better society.  
  • How eliminating corruption will make this world better. 
  • What can I do to help resolve the problems of older adults ?   
  • Lowering crime rates will change the world.  
  • How I would change the situation with indigenous Australians .  
  • Preventing and curing breast cancer is one of the greatest concerns in modern society.  
  • What can we do to prevent disease outbreaks ?  
  • Why the problem of school violence requires our immediate attention.   
  • How I would change the food distribution to combat the issue of world hunger .  
  • Why we should promote renewable energy sources.  
  • Terrorism is the most urgent problem in modern society.  
  • What would I do to change the situation with school bullying?   
  • What should we change in the world to resolve the problems of LGBT people ? 

📝 If I Could Change the World: Essay Example

In this section, you’ll find an essay example on the topic. The downloadable PDF version is under the preview. Hope it will inspire you to write your own If I Could Change the World essay!

If I Could Change the World: Pros and Cons (Essay Example)

The idea of having a tremendous influence on the course of the world history is rather tempting since it implies huge power and the availability of any resource possible. Thus, the possibility of changing the world might be perceived solely as a positive concept at first. However, without the ability to encompass and understand the global implications of the changes that I would make, I would take the actions that would most likely result in the suffering of multiple people, which is why the described scenario is highly undesirable.

Now that you know a little more, it’s easy to come up with even more “If I Could Change the World” essay topics. Just think about them carefully or surf the web for some inspiration.

Thank you for reading till the end! Leave your comment in the section below. Share the article with friends who also have to write an “If I Could Change the World” essay.

Further reading:

  • World Peace Essay in Simple English: How-to + Topic Ideas

It is a paper that deals with a controversial question “Can we change the world” (or similar). There are many ways to develop this topic: from telling about a person, invention, or idea of speaking about skills for changing the world.

To be concise within such a broad topic might be a challenge. One strategy might be to think about who or what in human history has changed something in society a lot. It might be an invention, a politician, a scientist, etc. Then, focus just on that subject.

There many ways to change something, both negatively and positively. If we do not care about ecology, we ruin the world’s biosphere. If we do our best to stay eco-friendly, we make it a better place. We can also change the world with the help of education, science, medicine, etc.

If you do not like the topic you are given, there are always ways to divert from it. Meanwhile, you will formally keep it the same. You can, for example, start by introducing a correlated idea. Then, write about that idea and its connection to the topic.

  • One Person Can Change The World
  • Essay about Three Things I Would Change in the World
  • The Power of Music to Help Change the World (and Me!)
  • If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
  • To Change the World, Change Yourself
  • Share to Facebook
  • Share to Twitter
  • Share to LinkedIn
  • Share to email

Why I Want to be a Pharmacist Essay: How to Write [2024]

Why do you want to be a pharmacist? An essay on this topic can be challenging, even when you know the answer. The most popular reasons to pursue this profession are the following:

How to Critique a Movie: Tips + Film Critique Example

How to write a film critique essay? To answer this question, you should clearly understand what a movie critique is. It can be easily confused with a movie review. Both paper types can become your school or college assignments. However, they are different. A movie review reveals a personal impression...

LPI Essay Samples: An Effective Way to Prepare for the Test

Are you getting ready to write your Language Proficiency Index Exam essay? Well, your mission is rather difficult, and you will have to work hard. One of the main secrets of successful LPI essays is perfect writing skills. So, if you practice writing, you have a chance to get the...

Dengue Fever Essay: How to Write It Guide [2024 Update]

Dengue fever is a quite dangerous febrile disease that can even cause death. Nowadays, this disease can be found in the tropics and Africa. Brazil, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, and India are also vulnerable to this disease.

What Are the 5 Different Types of Essays? A Complete Guide

For high school or college students, essays are unavoidable – worst of all, the essay types and essay writing topics assigned change throughout your academic career. As soon as you’ve mastered one of the many types of academic papers, you’re on to the next one. This article by Custom Writing...

How to Write an Outline: Alphanumeric, Decimal, & Other Formats

An outline is the main form of organization in academic writing. It implies listing all of the research ideas and components before the writing process starts. To many of you, an outline may seem like just another piece of extra work to do, but trust us, it will end up...

How to Write a Personal Essay: Topics, Structure, & Examples

Even though a personal essay seems like something you might need to write only for your college application, people who graduated a while ago are asked to write it. Therefore, if you are a student, you might even want to save this article for later!

How to Write a 5-Paragraph Essay: Outline, Examples, & Writing Steps

If you wish a skill that would be helpful not just for middle school or high school, but also for college and university, it would be the skill of a five-paragraph essay. Despite its simple format, many students struggle with such assignments.

Good Book Report: How to Write & What to Include

Reading books is pleasurable and entertaining; writing about those books isn’t. Reading books is pleasurable, easy, and entertaining; writing about those books isn’t. However, learning how to write a book report is something that is commonly required in university. Fortunately, it isn’t as difficult as you might think. You’ll only...

Best Descriptive Essays: Examples & How-to Guide [+ Tips]

A descriptive essay is an academic paper that challenges a school or college student to describe something. It can be a person, a place, an object, a situation—anything an individual can depict in writing. The task is to show your abilities to communicate an experience in an essay format using...

How to Write an Analysis Essay: Examples + Writing Guide

An analysis / analytical essay is a standard assignment in college or university. You might be asked to conduct an in-depth analysis of a research paper, a report, a movie, a company, a book, or an event. In this article, you’ll find out how to write an analysis paper introduction,...

How to Write a Film Analysis Essay: Examples, Outline, & Tips

A film analysis essay might be the most exciting assignment you have ever had! After all, who doesn’t love watching movies? You have your favorite movies, maybe something you watched years ago, perhaps a classic, or a documentary. Or your professor might assign a film for you to make a...

Hey, Julia! Really appreciate your efforts And amazing and useful information has been provided. Just a suggestion: if you would write a sample essay for more clear understanding. But, anyway, it was great and time-consuming reading. Thnx, dude??

Custom Writing

Glad to help, Prachi! 🙂

Really mind-blowing service. Thank you so much!

Thank you for your kind words, Ahmad! Much appreciated.

This website has really helped me. Thank you so so so much and I really appreciate it. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you 🙂 🙂

Thank you for your kind words about the blog, Marylou! I’m glad it was helpful.

Good speech and very easy

Thank you for kind words, Ibrahim!

I want to compose a full-fledged essay about a different topic. I read your guidelines to get some ideas to write something valid and meaningful. Really these are helpful.

Julia Reed

Hi, Bibi! Thanks for the feedback.

This was very useful for me. Thank you!

Thank you for the inspirational advice!

Thanks for the feedback!

Essay “if you could change the world”: what would you do and why?

Very nice essay about the world B-)

That’s a pleasure to hear it 🙂

Hi Pragati! Are you writing an essay on this topic? Did you find the article helpful or you need additional help? Always happy to answer 🙂

Become a Writer Today

Essays About Change: Top 5 Examples and 10 Prompts

If you are writing essays about change, see below our best essay examples and writing prompts to help expand your horizon on this topic.

The only thing constant is change. It could be good or bad. It could be short-term or have a lasting impact. The best we can do is to ride on this inevitable and never-ending cycle of change and try coming out of it still standing, thriving, and smiling. This ability to cope with change is called resilience. 

However, some changes – such as the loss of a loved one or a livelihood — are too overwhelming to deal with that some fall into trauma and depression, in which case psychological support is highly encouraged. Read on to see our round-up of rich, well-written essays about change, and a list of helpful prompts follows to help you start your essay. 

1. “The Psychology Of Dealing With Change: How To Become Resilient” by Kathleen Smith

2. how prison changes people by christian jarrett, 3. six ways the workplace will change in the next 10 years by jordan turner, 4. “social movements for good: what they are and how to lead them” by derrick feldman, 5. “the right way to make a big career transition” by utkarsh amitabh, 1. changing your lifestyle for the better, 2. be the change the world needs, 3. adapting to life-changing events, 4. addressing climate change, 5. how did technology change our daily lives, 6. people who changed the world, 7. if you could change the world, 8. dealing with resistance to change, 9. coming-of-age novels, 10. changing your eating habits.

“If you can learn to cope with change, you’ll lower your risk for anxiety and depression. Your relationships will flourish, and your body will feel healthier. But if you can’t cope with change, only a minor amount of stress can make you feel overwhelmed by life. You might also struggle to set and meet the goals you have for yourself.”

Instead of fixating on events and people over which we do not have the power to control, we should focus on ourselves and how we can embrace change without fear. Some tips in this essay include practicing self-care, being in the present, and focusing on your priorities, such as health and well-being. 

Check out these essays about being grateful and essays about heroes .

“Ultimately, society may be confronted with a choice. We can punish offenders more severely and risk changing them for the worse, or we can design sentencing rules and prisons in a way that helps offenders rehabilitate and change for the better.”

In an environment where you are forced to follow the rules to the letter and worry about your safety and privacy daily, prisoners could develop a kind of “perpetual paranoia” or “emotional numbing” and deteriorate cognitive abilities. The essay suggests a rethink in how we deal with law-breakers to encourage reform rather than punish and risk repeat offenses.

Check out these essays about police brutality and essays about assessment .

“As technology closes the divide between geographically separate people, it introduces cracks in relationships and cultures. The remote distribution of work means that many employees will not build the same social relationships in the workplace, leading to issues of disengagement and loneliness.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has already disrupted our way of work in our new normal, but more changes are yet to unfold. This essay looks into the future of work where responsibilities and demands will see a sea change; machines will be co-workers; and the best employee is defined by digital skills, not years of experience.

You might also like these essays about cinema and essays about jealousy .

“Social movements for good establish a mass platform of action for a population, which helps inform and cultivate the awareness necessary to help prevent an issue from affecting more people. True social movements for good have the power to generate awareness that produces tangible results, helping the general population live longer, more productive, happier lives.”

A social movement for good aims to bring social justice to an aggrieved community by calling for tangible support and resources. To accelerate a movement’s momentum, an effective leader must possess certain qualities in this essay.

“There were so many questions running through my head during this time. Why should I quit to make this my full-time job? Is this what I really want? When should I quit? Poet Mary Oliver’s words kept ringing in my head: ‘What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?’”

Deciding on a career change is more complex than deciding whether you want to do something different. A career shift entails lifestyle, mindset, and motivation changes, each of which has to be carefully reassessed and prepared for. This essay guides you in deciding when or why it is right to leave your job.

10 Interesting Writing Prompts on Essays About Change

Below are thought-stimulating prompts to help with your essay: 

Committing to regular exercise or getting to bed earlier may be easier said than done. Moreover, the determination that was burning at the start of your lifestyle change journey may wane in the latter part when things get tough. So, for your essay, provide practical tips from wellness experts and your own experience on how to sustain a routine toward a better lifestyle. You can split your essay into sections for each health and wellness tip you recommend.

This is the gist of the famous quote by Mahatma Gandhi: “be the change you wish to see in the world.” Unfortunately, many of us get frustrated over people refusing to change but fail to see how this change should start with our perception and action. In this essay, write about what an individual can do to focus more on self-improvement and development. 

Have you ever faced a situation where you had to adapt to a drastic change? It could be moving to a different city or school or dealing with losing a loved one. Share your experience and list the traits and practices that helped you through this challenging phase. You may also research what psychologists recommend people to do to keep from falling into depression or developing anxiety. 

To offer a unique highlight in your essay, tackle what your school or community is doing to fight global warming. Interview city councilors and mayors and learn about ongoing initiatives to keep the city clean and green. So this essay could help entice others in your community to work together and volunteer in initiatives to slow climate change.

Essays About Technology

List down the advantages and disadvantages technology has presented in your life. For example, seeking clarification from teachers about an assignment has been made easier with the many communication channels available. However, technology has also enabled a work-at-home or distance learning arrangement that is causing burnout in many households. 

Feature a person who has revolutionized the world. It could be a scientist, artist, activist, writer, economist, athlete, etc. Preferably, it is someone you idolize, so you do not have to start from scratch in your research. So first, provide a short profile of this person to show his life and career background. Then, write about their ultimate contribution to society and how this continues to benefit or inspire many. 

If there’s one thing you could change in this world, what would it be? This sounds like a question you’d hear in pageants, but it could be a creative way to lay down your life advocacy. So, explain why this is where you want to see change and how this change can improve others’ lives.

Resistance to change is most common when companies modernize, and the dinosaurs in the office refuse to learn new digital platforms or systems. Write about what you think leaders and human resource units should do to help employees cope with changes in the new normal.

A coming-of-age novel tells stories of protagonists who grow up and undergo character transformation. From being eaten up by their fears, the main heroes become braver and better at confronting a world that once intimidated them. For this prompt, share your favorite coming-of-age novel and narrate the changes in the hero’s qualities and beliefs. 

Delivering fast food has become so easy that, for many, it has become a way of life, making it an enormous challenge to replace this practice with healthy eating habits. So, research and write about nutritionists’ tips on creating a lifestyle and environment conducive to healthy eating habits.

If you’re still stuck picking an essay topic, check out our guide on how to write essays about depression . For more ideas, you can check out our general resource of essay writing topics .

how will you change the world essay

Yna Lim is a communications specialist currently focused on policy advocacy. In her eight years of writing, she has been exposed to a variety of topics, including cryptocurrency, web hosting, agriculture, marketing, intellectual property, data privacy and international trade. A former journalist in one of the top business papers in the Philippines, Yna is currently pursuing her master's degree in economics and business.

View all posts

How to Change the World (45 Things You Can Actually Do)

We might not be able to change the whole world all by ourselves, but by making small improvements in our own lives and inspiring other people to do the same, a snowball effect may occur that can positively affect our planet in time.

So, what are the things we can do to bring positive change to the world?

Table of Contents

Change your attitude

Thinking process for developing an idea to change the world, true change happens at the center, changing the world is about changing yourself, change the way we think about the world, it starts by effecting a single person, setup a mission-based organization, improving the world will take effort on many fronts, choose quality goods, no act is too small to create change, take a vacation that saves the planet, everyone can play a part in changing the world one step at a time, change happens when we shift a behavior, be kind and spread non-judgmental love, helping someone else through their pain, changing the world isn’t easy, start by doing the right thing, personal demonstration and a lifetime commitment are the keys – no skills required, supporting and empowering others, making a big impact can start with just small actions, education and reflection are key, know yourself, volunteer at your local animal shelter, frequently asked questions.

Phil La Duke

phil-la-duke

CEO and Global Business Principal Safety Consultant

You are part of the world so if you change, the world changes, albeit a tiny bit. But sometimes a seemingly insignificant change that you make in your life can have sweeping consequences.

For example, about 10 years ago I came to the realization that I didn’t like what I had become. I traveled a lot for work and was always grumping about delayed flights, bad service at hotels and restaurants, and being ripped off by the policies of rental cars. I was miserable both while traveling and at home.

One day, I got sick of listening to myself and made a commitment that every time I complained about something I would find three things to compliment with the same vehemence. It was tough at first but I pushed through it. I found myself so desperate to find 3 people/things to compliment that I started heading off problems.

I greeted hotel clerks with a cheerful smile and asked how their day was going where before I would snarl at them. After someone did a particularly good job, I would ask to see the manager. The manager would always come out expecting a big complaint, and it would freak him or her out when I would praise an employee for the service provided.

It made them feel so good that I felt good. I imagine it made them feel so good that they were treating people better. Then it became a habit with me. I have had airlines upgrade me because I offered my seat to a wheelchair-bound passenger. Hotels upgrade me because I made their day. People smile at me when I meet them on the street. And most importantly I am happy.

Be more optimistic

Optimism is a skill and needs to be developed. Humans tend to default to pessimism because it prepares one for the worst. But the worst case scenario is seldom the most likely scenario and pessimism makes you see the world as a bleak and predatory landscape.

Developing positive thinking helps you to become more resilient and strengthens your immune system. Optimism is contagious and the change it brings can be tremendous.

Think before you speak

Do you have a family member, friend or coworker that has made a real mess of their lives? Are you tempted to tell them that it is their own darned fault? Don’t. Before you speak (especially when giving advice) ask yourself these questions:

  • Is it true? Too often we see a situation through a lens that may not be all that clear, in other cases we make assumptions with no evidence as to their efficacy.
  • Is it kind? “The truth hurts” goes the old adage, but this needn’t be the case. When we are sharing our opinions on the actions or situation of another we can be honest without being insulting or unkind.
  • Is it necessary? Do you have a friend who is fat? Do they know they need to lose weight (or quit smoking, or whatever)? If they know they need to change something in their life then you telling them that they need to change it isn’t necessary, it’s rude and intrusive and you should keep your opinion to yourself; in these cases, it’s usually about you being aggressive and wanting to feel better than trying to be helpful.
  • Is it invited? If a person doesn’t ask your advice don’t offer it. If a person wants to know what you think they will ask you to tell them. Just because a person is going through a difficult time is not an invitation for you to run your mouth.

Smiling makes other people happy and puts them at ease. Happy people treat other people better and the world gets better.

Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself. Whether it is to forgive your own self or someone else, learn to do so. If someone cuts you off in traffic forgive him or her.

You have probably cut someone off without meaning to, or maybe you did mean to because you were rushing to the deathbed of a loved one. Don’t let a random stranger control your mood.

Make the day, don’t let the day make you

You are a human being and how you react to the things that happen to you is completely within your control. Choose to be kind to strangers, charitable to the needy, and nice to people whether they deserve it or not.

If you make these changes you send ripples through the whole universe and who knows what great things will come from the positive energy you exude.

Bryan Mattimore

Bryan Mattimore

Co-founder & Chief Idea Guy, Growth Engine Innovation Agency

Here’s a simple thinking process for discovering and developing an idea to change the world:

Create an original idea that you are passionate about – and that you think has the potential to change the world. How? Use one of the following five, idea-thinking strategies:

  • Continually ask yourself, “What’s the problem?”
  • Adapt or leverage a new technology to address/solve a problem.
  • Find ways to help people self-actualize.
  • Save people or institutions money.
  • Save time or increase the speed or efficiency of something.

To help you discover an initiative you are passionate about, start by creating a long list – of at least 10 – but preferably 25 areas or areas in which you would like to change the world.

Do you want to change the world with:

  • A new app that makes commuting easier.
  • A national restaurant concept that helps improve communication between family members when eating out.
  • A new hydroponic, agricultural process that helps feed the world more economically.
  • A service that helps older people or retirees get jobs.
  • A non-profit that enables aspiring artists to get their notice around the world.
  • A new type of adventure service (real or virtual) to aid former drug addicts in their recovery.

Once you have your arena in which you would like to change the world, use a variety of creative thinking/brainstorming techniques to develop your idea further.

One technique you could try is the wish technique where you wish for the “impossible,” and then try to figure out how to make your impossible wish real.

Another technique is the silly idea technique. Come up with not good ideas but silly ideas in your area of interest/passion and use that “silly idea” to inspire an original, practical idea.

A third is to use a whiteboard in your office – and every day – post preliminary ideas, areas for further research, questions, etc. that could ultimately trigger your “big idea” to change the world.

With a specific idea you are passionate about bringing to the world, do some inexpensive research to further vet and develop your idea. Talk with friends, family, business associates, even cocktail party acquaintances about the following:

  • What they think of the idea.
  • If they have any contacts that could help you either finance or help you learn more about the need for.
  • The potential impact of your idea on the world.

To further crystallize the idea – and make it easier to communicate with others who might want to help you bring your idea to the world – create a billboard for your idea. Your billboard should have a benefit headline, visual, and reason-to-believe or call to action.

Example: A service that promotes mindfulness in classrooms.

Headline: Mindfulness training in classrooms… it’s time!

Visual: Kids in a classroom with their eyes closed and thought bubbles of different course material.

Reason to Believe: Teachers report a 30% increase in test scores among heir students taking mindfulness training. 

Dr. Mary Jo Podgurski

Mary Jo Podgurski

Author | Sexuality Counselor | President & Founder, Academy for Adolescent Health, Inc.

Each person is unique and worthy; each person is born with the capacity to create, to learn, and to make positive change. How to change the world?

As a child, I hungered to change the world. I dreamt of traveling to foreign lands and establishing equity. I was caught up in a hero journey script, where one person took on evil and injustice and the world turned into a loving, safe place.

I was a teen in the sixties, so Martin Luther King and the Kennedy brothers inspired me – until their deaths when I realized standing for change in the world can be dangerous. Undeterred, I jumped headfirst into work for social justice.

It was my papa, a man without formal education, yet blessed with outstanding wisdom, who set me on the right path. First, he told me, you change or improve yourself .

Create an identity that welcomes all to you. Work to respect all, even those people who disagree with you. Live your message, because just saying it means little if your life doesn’t reflect your words. After you get yourself right, spread your message from your core – to your family, to your friends, to your co-workers, to your community.

For the last 50 plus years, I’ve focused on making change where I am. I bloom where I am planted. Young people are my focus, my mission, and my reason for teaching. In them, I see hope for real change. I envision a future based on respect and acceptance, not judgment and hate. Our kids are all right.

My motto is #EachPersonIsAPersonofWorth . Between 1988 and 2013, my staff and I taught over230,000 teens quality sexuality education focused on respect, consent, and sexual health.

We’re still teaching. We made a real change in our small community by lowering teen pregnancy rates, but more importantly, we created a culture of respect that transformed teens into ambassadors for respect.

One changes the world one person at a time. Create internal change and spread the message. Create and maintain leadership succession and sustainability.

No mission is about one person – do not seek fame or fortune, but dedicate your life to change that goes on in a legacy after your death.

As I tell my team, it’s not about us. It’s about change that makes the world a better place, One Kid at time TM. If one young person’s world is changed for the better, and that one young person passes on a change to one more person, we have a ripple that makes lasting change become reality.

Margaret Paul, Ph.D.

Margaret Paul

Psychologist | Author | Relationship Expert | Co-Creator, Inner Bonding®

It’s about moving out of fear, anger, anxiety, and depression and into the peace, love, and joy that results from learning to love yourself.

Loving yourself isn’t about taking a warm bath or getting your nails done. It’s about learning to take responsibility for your feelings – for learning to stop abandoning yourself with your self-judgments, addictions and blaming others – and learning to treat yourself like someone you love.

Related: How to Love and Accept Yourself as You Are

When you abandon yourself, you then project your anger outward, which is what is causing the problems on our planet. When you judge yourself, you judge others. When you think you are not good enough within, you then project that out, which causes racism, sexism, the need for power over others, and greed.

People who are emotionally abandoning themselves try to fill up externally instead of realizing that it’s only love that fills and brings joy.

Each of us has the choice each moment regarding our intention, and there are only two intentions to choose from:

  • The intent to control.
  • The intent to love.

It’s choosing the intent to control that is destroying relationships and destroying our planet. It’s time to choose the intent to learn to love yourself and share your love with others.

When you learn to truly value who you are as a unique expression of the Divine which is Love, and you know yourself to be love in your soul, then you can see the love that is in each of us. As we each learn to love ourselves and fill ourselves with love, that love overflows and we want to share it with others.

Our world would heal if each person was focused on learning to love themselves and then extend their love to others and to the planet.

Erica Hornthal , LCPC, BC-DMT

Erica Hornthal

Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor

Move! When we move our bodies, we change the way we think about and relate to our own world.

Becoming more aware of our own bodies, our kinesphere, and the people in it can lead to greater empathy which can reduce violence and enhance compassion. When we know how our words and actions truly impact others we think twice before “pulling the trigger”.

Being mindful and bodyful is within everyone and with awareness and practice, we can make the world a better place.

Steven I. Azizi, Esq.

 Steven I. Azizi

Lawyer | Founder, Miracle Mile Law Group

I truly believe that everyday people can change the world by understanding that it starts by effecting a single person as opposed to a large aggregate of individuals.

A good way to begin is by approaching your colleagues, family, or friends, and ask yourself how can I provide some value to these people? It could be as simple as sending them an article that relates to a conversation you previously had or congratulating that person on a recent success.

Related: Building Strong Work Relationships

By building this momentum of good deeds and thoughtfulness, more and more people will be attracted to you. You’ll soon realize that as this number grows, your ability to make a change on a greater scale will easily be accomplished.

As a personal anecdote, I remember starting out as a new attorney with a solo practice. As time progressed, word spread of my firm’s quality work and soon I was making a change within the legal realm. I’m confident this is because I provided value to my clients and colleagues.

Sean Sessel

Sean Sessel

Founder & Director, The Oculus Institute

The single most powerful thing you can do to change the world is to build a company, a nonprofit, a movement, or some other organization. One person can only do so much alone, but by rallying others to your cause you can magnify that change dramatically.

Setting up this mission-based organization requires a lot of thought. History is littered with well-meaning attempts to change the world that went off the rails. Here are some things to consider:

  • Sustainability (especially financial sustainability, which is an advantage for creating a purpose-based company).
  • Culture of the organization (especially getting the right key people involved early and making sure that culture flows from the top).
  • Implementation (a clear actionable path to achieve specific, measurable results is far more powerful than a fluffy vision without an operationalized plan).
  • Long-term vision, including growth plans.
  • Structure to ensure that the sustainability, culture, implementation, and growth endure beyond you.

Donna Cameron

Donna Cameron

Author, A Year of Living Kindly: Choices That Will Change Your Life and the World Around You

Right now, I think most of us would agree that the world is not in good shape and that we seem to be heading in the wrong direction—perhaps irreversibly. There are numerous reasons, ranging from climate to resources, to politics, to economics, to prejudice.

One big problem—and the one I’m focused on—is that we’re in the midst of an epidemic of incivility.

Literally an epidemic. It’s been shown that rudeness and unkindness are contagious. Just like the measles. According to researchers at the University of Florida, rudeness spreads like a cold or the flu—it’s passed from one person to the next until masses of people have it.

Not only do people who are subjected to rude treatment themselves subsequently behave rudely, even those who only witness rudeness succumb to rude behaviors. This explains so much about the state of our world these days. We are experiencing a fast-growing epidemic.

But there’s good news from science, too: kindness is equally contagious.

It begets more kindness. When we’re kind, we inspire kind behavior in others, and they, in turn, inspire others. The effect ripples out beyond our awareness. Whether we extend kindness, receive kindness, or merely witness kindness, the result is the same: it acts as a catalyst for more kindness. Pretty soon, the world is changed.

So, we have a choice of which contagion we want to spread. We are more likely to choose wisely if we recognize this and start asking at every interaction: Do I want to expand rudeness, disrespect, and incivility, or do I want to replace it with compassion, respect, and cooperation?

If we pay attention and consider both who we want to be and what sort of world we want to live in, we will start changing the dynamic and restoring civil discourse. It sounds easy, but it’s not. It takes practice and it takes paying attention.

We can further counter the epidemic of incivility and start changing the world by learning to absorb an insult without retaliating and to hear harsh words and not hurl them back. These small acts will slow the reverberation of unkindness. It’s hard to do, but it gets easier with practice.

Improving the world will take effort on many fronts. This is just one of them. But it’s a big one!

Dave Munson

Dave Munson

President, Saddleback Leather Co.

I say that by buying quality goods for the rest of your life, you will change the world. It may not be noticeable, but you will be doing your part. And not just with leather bags, but with shoes and toasters and couches and fishing poles, etc.

Quality is good for the environment. Buy nice or buy twice. If everyone bought bags that lasted twice as long, then we would have half as many bags in landfills. If everyone bought shoes that lasted twice as long, then we would have half as many shoes in landfills. Half as much mining for the metals and half as much oil used to make the synthetics.

Quality is good for the poor. They spend far more money on buying low-quality goods over and over again. A general rule of thumb, if you pay twice as much, it will last ten times as long and you’ll save a ton of money.

Quality is good for the makers. Factories who produce low-quality goods are often abusers of their people. India has an estimated 18.5 million slaves. China has 3.5 million and most of them are making low-quality goods. And if they’re not slaves, they are desperate people with no options but to work in horrible conditions for peanuts.

High-quality companies care about where their goods are made and who makes them. Low quality low priced companies generally don’t want to or care to know. It’s not a good deal unless it’s a good deal for everybody.

When people ask me why my leather bags are so expensive, I tell them that they’re asking the wrong question. They should ask why theirs are so cheap. Buy quality and change the world.

Pratibha Vuppuluri

Pratibha Vuppuluri

CEO, She Started It!

Anyone can do something to help change the world. No act is too small to create change. With that said, here are a few ways we can do to help make change a better place to live in.

  • Be kind. Kindness is contagious. Once you do an act of kindness, the person you showed kindness will mostly do the same to other people. It’s like a domino effect. Being kind is as simple as helping someone in need.
  • Spread happiness. You don’t need to do so much to make other people happy. By way of greeting the saleslady in your favorite shop or praising your subordinate at work for a job well done is enough to make someone happy.
  • Be a law-abiding citizen. The laws are there for a reason. They help keep any community or country to stay organized and orderly. Follow the rules, follow the laws and you will help a lot in creating a better world.
  • Be respectful. Respect the elders, respect every single person around you.
  • Keep it clean. With the emerging problems in the world today, particularly the environment, you are helping a lot by simply keeping your surroundings clean. Put your trash on the right places and go green.

These are just five of the many simple things you can do to help make a change. Do your part. By doing your part, you are not only changing the world for yourself but for generations to come as well.

Roberta Kravette

Roberta Kravette

Co-Owner, Destination: Wildlife

The way we vacation matters. Some travel budgets go right into the pockets of big business – but some help save the world. We can have a fabulous travel vacation and help climate change and change lives for the better all at the same time – simply by how we chose.

We are not necessarily talking “home shares,” those are fast becoming big business, too with investors buying multiple homes for the purpose of short-term renting to tourists – and destroying once peaceful neighborhoods. And we are not talking about the minimum wage for the hotel maid.

Where do you want to go? The islands? Mountains? Interested in culture? Beautiful nature? 

Here’s one example:

Puerto Rico: Have authentic experience instead of the same-old of a corporate-owned look-alike resort. Enjoy the peace and serenity of a fully outfitted treehouse in a lush rainforest garden. Listen to coquis sing and a waterfall’s gurgle, watch rainbow-colored birds and butterflies from your deck.

Eat delicious meals made from garden ingredients. Be close to the beaches, a national forest, and the fabulous art and culture scene of old San Juan.

The treehouses were hand built in the traditional way by a local artisan family who continues to manage and tend the regenerated rainforest garden (a failed agriculture scheme had rendered it clear cut and barren for 100 years).

After hurricane Maria destroyed the gardens, they rebuilt without government help. Your vacation allows those families and their extended families and the community to continue the recovery. And the regenerated rainforest adds life to the planet’s “lungs” absorbing carbon and helping to balance the causes of climate change.

When you chose with care, your week of relaxation helps save a little section of the world.

Anywhere you go, from Bali to Brazil or from Namibia to New York, there are vacation opportunities that economically benefit the community and the environment.

Look for experience providers that follow “responsible travel” practices – you will be helping to save the planet, and having a great vacation, too.  

Paige Arnof-Fenn

Paige Arnof-Fenn

CEO, Mavens & Moguls

Examples abound from picking up litter in your neighborhood to volunteering at a local food bank or women’s shelter to reading to children at the library to visiting with the elderly on a regular basis.

It does not take any special skills or training just a desire to pitch in and time commitment to make it a priority. Every community has nonprofit organizations doing great work on the ground and all of them are under-resourced so giving them your time and/or money is a huge help.

Whether you want to help children, animals, the environment or people with special needs, just ask around your local community and you will find many ways to change the world. It starts with you.

Susan Petang

Susan Petang

Certified Mindful Lifestyle & Stress Management Coach, The Quiet Zone | Author, The Quiet Zone – Mindful Stress Management for Everyday People

There are things we can actually do to change the world:

  • Stay mindful. Worrying about the past or the future isn’t going to change either.
  • Be solution oriented. Instead of complaining about what should be, think about what is, and ask yourself, “ What is something positive I can do about this? “
  • Be empathetic. Walk a mile in someone else’s moccasins. Think about what their experience must be like and how they are feeling before reacting.
  • Find gratitude. There is always something in every situation for which we can be grateful – even if it’s only that we have the strength to get through it. Related:  18 Things to Be Thankful for (The Ultimate List)
  • “Think globally, act locally.” No matter how big an issue is, if many individuals play their part, significant change can be accomplished.

Leslie Ng

Mindset and Business Coach

If you’re feeling really stuck on what you can do, the first thing to know is that change happens when we shift a behavior, structure or belief in the system.

And that everyone’s sweet spot is that intersect of your unique mix of talent, skills and interest and that little part of the system you can nudge. For example, if you are a photographer, maybe it’s taking images of a subject that shifts a belief we have. Or maybe it’s taking your design skills and creating better signage or equipment that shifts a behavior.

Change can happen through these small shifts, so it’s not about trying to take on a huge problem but to collaborate on these small shifts through the intersection of your unique skills and talents.

Much more simplified, whether you care about climate change, poverty, equity, inclusivity or another global issue, you can introduce the conversation of things you really care about to your circle of family and friends so you start to create the awareness.

Find your tribe and collectively raise your voices and demand changes to policies and regulations that may be keeping systems in place. And finally, choose to live more sustainably, eat less meat, make your home more energy efficient and choose an electric vehicle.

Andrea Travillian

Andrea Travillian

Lifestyle Transformation Coach | Aspirify

Changing the world is easy, most would laugh at this. However, there is one simple thing you can do, and it costs nothing and very little time.

Be kind and spread non-judgmental love. Especially in our modern world people feel alone. By being nice and loving, you can change someone’s day. It does not have to be major. Smile, say hello, talk to the cashier without your phone out. Listen to your kids and spouse. Just be there for people. If we all did this the world would be dramatically different.

Author | Educator | Strategist | Owner, Financial Black Belt Academy

On a personal level, I have developed the M.E.N.S. Network. M.E.N.S. stands for Mentoring, Encouraging, Nurturing, and Strengthening. I have also published a book titled The Plan , which takes the concept to a whole new level.

How I change the world is through this process: setting aside my priorities, entering into someone else’s struggle, and walking alongside him or her on a path of restoration through mentoring, encouraging, nurturing, and strengthening that person.

I find thinking about helping someone else through their pain is the best way to take my eyes off of myself and change the world… at least the world that I live in.

Aaron Iara

Founder, Effective Nerd

There are a lot of people with competing viewpoints and a limited amount of time, energy and resources. It may feel hopeless to attempt to do anything.

I have noticed that most people use the government as their way to donate to charity. They think that their taxes are enough to change the world (or at least their country). People will vote for the government to open charity programs. If the law does not pass, they stop trying to help.

I believe that this is a flawed approach to changing the world. I don’t believe that doing the bare minimum civic duties is going to change anything. We need to get out there, get our hands dirty, and do it ourselves.

For example, say there is a bill proposed that would help disabled people. The law would increase everyone’s taxes by $1 and use the money to open a charity. The vote is lost by 40% to 60%.

Typically, the next years of bills and elections would be spent fighting for this cause. However, let’s say the 40% in favor of the law all donated the $1 to charity and pitched in a little. They would make a far bigger impact on the world than their failed voting efforts.

Voting and political action are not enough. Changing the world does not require the permission of our leaders. It can be accomplished by regular people working together. Let’s get out there and make a difference!

If you want to change the world, don’t wait for your leaders and society to come around to your cause. Get out there, help people, and donate your time and resources.

Melissa Brown

Melissa Brown

Founder, Raising Kane

Everyone thinks that to change the world you have to have superpowers. You have to be unique. You have to have something everyone else doesn’t have. The truth is we can all change the world!

We can all make where we live a better place by doing the right thing- whether it’s picking up garbage, helping out our neighbor, holding the door open for a total stranger. Going the extra mile helps everyone. It gives you a sense of pride and for others, that there are still good people out there in the world. You will influence them to do better themselves.

The people you see changing the world or who you look up to, they do the right thing daily, overtime with consistency which adds up to great things, movement.

People like us want to change the world, not just talk about it! Be your own superhero! Start doing the right thing!

Lori Ramas

Workflow & Systems Specialist, Relezant

You don’t need a degree or very much practice to change the world. Whatever really matters to you whether it’s cleaning the ocean, making people laugh , saving animals, or recycling if you don’t embody what you believe in, it won’t make a difference. No matter if you’re doing business or just taking a personal stand for something, ultimately, people will look at you not just your work.

So I invite you to check in with yourself and see if you are demonstrating a lifestyle that aligns with what matters most to you. This is a critical part of changing the world that not everyone touches on.

It’s not just about the actions you take, although integral, it’s also about who you are, what you demonstrate to the world, and that you do it again and again over time.

If you think of the most famous people or your heroes you can see that they clearly showed the world by example and stuck with it. So get involved with something that lights you up and makes your heart swell, I guarantee you even if you do need a certification or to study something, it won’t be hard and it won’t take long.

Elizabeth Adan

Elizabeth Adan

Poet | Entrepreneur

I used to think that one person couldn’t change the world, the way I saw the size and quantity of what can be considered a “ problem ” in today’s modern societies. However, after some deep exploration, I have found that one strategy has changed my life (and hopefully others around me as well!)

I believe all we have in the world is the love we share with one another. That’s the only thing that matters, to me, and I would imagine to most. Deep respect and treasure of the traits and personalities that make people unique are what gives me life and hope for the future.

Related: Why Is Hope so Important in Life?

Every small act of support, understanding, and kindness is a drop in the puddle of life, and the more love you drop, the stronger the waves of the ripple effect. I try to listen, appreciate, enjoy and help other people every single day.

If anything, it’s changed my life. I feel happier, more grateful, more connected and in tune with the environment and the humans around me, more capable of love and appreciation. My world has opened through supporting and empowering others to find their own happiness and truth, and I hope theirs has too.

Kyndall Bennett

Kyndall Bennett

Personal Development Blogger, Kyrabe Stories

I know this sounds like a quote to put on a cute kitty poster, but really it’s that simple and can also be fun! In fact, I offer you a challenge to get started.

Have you heard of the #TrashTag Challenge? In short, we find an area that’s covered in trash, take a before picture, clean the area, take an after picture, then challenge our friends to outdo our contributions.

We did a small area at the Sanford Riverwalk in Florida for some adorable ducks! When I say “small area”, I mean it took us less than thirty minutes to clean! To push the challenge further, we even made a video to show how simple it was to do some good!

Now here’s the bigger impact of it: let’s say three friends decide to take on your challenge then three of their friends take on their challenge. Because of your small contribution, you would have started a cleaning chain full of motivated challengers, and I can vouch that this is one challenge that I don’t mind losing to others!

David Garcia

David Garcia

Journalist | Communications Professional, Find Courses

Changing the world is not as difficult an endeavor as it may seem. When we think about old social conventions with clear examples such as gender equality, we realize that what was normalized in the past now appears outrageous over time for modern society.

This doesn’t happen magically. It is up to us as citizens who influence progress. We rely on values that drive our lives, behaviors, decisions, and everything we do. If we are aware of these values, we can stick to those that will benefit us and others.

Values will drive all kind of actions, both voluntary and involuntary, helping to foster change.

For this to happen, education and reflection are key. We can engage in both activities in many different ways. When watching movies, playing games, reading books, living experiences, or interacting with people we expose ourselves to situations where education and reflection take place whether consciously or unconsciously. If we act according to our positive values everyone can influence this process and have an impact on others and the world we live in.

Alexandra Nima

Alexandra Nima

Artist and Business Owner, The sophisticatedgeek.com

I started craving change at 9, inspired by the trauma and depth psychology books that were readily available in our home. As was knowledge, my environment lacked empathy and human qualities. I saw very early that a lot was wrong with this planet so I wanted to use my intelligence and strength to heal it.

Over the years, I have studied psychology, fashion, social sciences, business, tech, qigong and everything else I could get my hands on to source a solution. I dug deeper and deeper to find a way to eradicate what I consider the basic problem we have, the one root cause of all problems: the lack of true self-knowledge, a lack of individuation.

Know yourself, and all darkness fades. All wars and separation become unnecessary, as do their side effects, like poverty. My approach to solving the problem of stimulating mass individuation was first aimed at a unique band concept devised at age 19, which, after many trials and tribulations failed.

I had trained my body and mind, helped many people, networked and studied business to prepare myself, but could not find people who shared in my vision. Eventually, I developed autoimmune because the stress and adversity I faced in music, in business and generally from others was unbearable, and was knocked out for a few years.

Two years ago, I had to reorient completely. Now I am trying to bring the same values and strategy into a tech project, an empathy app that connects people at a very deep level.  Its hard and complex work, but I feel I am going somewhere.

These are things you can actually do:

  • Accumulate as much useful knowledge as you can.
  • Get as healthy and fit as can be, and train your mind to deal with adversity even of the unimaginable kind.
  • Don’t expect anything but hard work. If you really want to change things, you will have to fight much adversity, and will probably make enemies- even if that is the last thing on your mind. Change usually requires a change of the status quo, which rarely comes about without friction.
  • Train your inside, train your outside, and draw circles. Find your crowd, and use marketing to speak to them.
  • Prepare for emergencies, have a database with emergency contacts, and save up if you can.
  • Learn to run a business, learn to build an app, learn to sing like a pro. Whatever it is, use it as a platform to communicate change.
  • If you feel insecure, do something small. Pick up litter, paint a wall, adopt a rescue animal. No matter what.. just do it. Every little thing counts, and together, we can move a mountain.

Deirdre McKay

Deirdre McKay

Artist | Wellness Advocate | Author, “ Gifts of the Animals and Gifts of the Seas “

After many hours, days and years of being preachy and trying to push my ideas onto people, I’ve now resigned myself to a more “ sit-back and do my own life” attitude to change the world, it seems, actions often do speak louder than words.

Friends sometimes say they admire my path of trying new life and work opportunities or making travel part of my life and learning, and of making my art, wellness, writing and experiences a priority. Or they say, “ you are so lucky that you can travel .”

But the truth is, I’ve had to make my own “luck”, and endure stress and skimping, living on a budget, going without things like new wardrobe pieces, eating out, and more so that I can travel.

I’ve even ventured into the unknown and seemingly unstable territory of living without a home so that I can live on the road. I did the latter by renting out my condo to finance my travel so I can experience more of the world!

To me, changing the world means touching individuals and creating lasting and meaningful things that keep on giving – in my case art and children’s books with messages. My messages are of appreciating the beauty and the paradise we live in – and appreciating the gifts of animals, oceans, flowers, family, culture.

I’m an educator, mom, friend, artist and book author. I teach yoga indoors and outdoors, and the beach yoga I guide my students through is another way of appreciating our landscapes and natural resources and also “earthing” and “grounding” – which has been scientifically proven to heal our bodies and reduce inflammation.

When I see my son experiencing and taking risks – whether it is living a farm life, studying software engineering, traveling to Africa – I support him. He is tasting the flavors of the world.

Struggles are for learning, and my struggles and career redirections inspired personal growth.

I hope to inspire others to take risks. To try things that help them grow and integrate all their loves into their lives – arts, movement, scientific or mathematical interests, family experiences or whatever makes them glow and smile.

Allison Hester

Allison Hester

Volunteer and Publisher of eClean Magazine

Mahatma Gandhi said , “ The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. ”

Three years ago, my daughter and I started volunteering at our local animal shelter, mostly because my daughter was having health issues and loves animals so we would go spend time with the shelter animals.

I’ve always loved animals but always thought that I would rather spend my charitable donations on programs that help people. That is until my shelter experience helped me realize how much animal charities actually do help people.

Since I started volunteering at the shelter, I’ve become super sensitive to the amazing impact that animals have on our emotional health and well being. Our shelter experience helped my daughter’s physical and emotional health improve more than any medical treatment she received. They make the world a better place.

So when it comes to changing the world, a simple thing to do is a volunteer at your local animal shelter, or foster pets (which we’ve since done), or adopt.

Going to the shelter for even a few minutes to love on the animals makes a huge difference for those animals, and it is a wonderful mental health booster for the volunteers as well, in turn, making the world a brighter place.

Abe Navas

General Manager, Emily’s Maids

In this era, there is only one thought that stands out and it is “ think globally, act locally ”.

Recycle. The single most important thing you need to start doing. Then comes the saving of water. You waste a lot of water, no matter when you read this. Don’t load your dishwasher with less than half of a load.

Don’t let the water run when you are brushing your teeth. Use public transportation. This way you save money and help the planet. This is the most basic things you can start doing!

What is the most important thing to consider when trying to change the world?

The most important thing to remember when trying to change the world is that even small actions can make a big difference. It can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of our problems, but every positive action, no matter how small, contributes to the greater good.

By focusing on our goals, working with others, and staying true to our values, we can positively impact the world around us. We must be patient and persistent in our efforts, recognizing that real change takes time and requires sustained effort.

Above all, we should never forget why we are working for positive change – to create a better future for ourselves and future generations.

Do I need a lot of money or influence to make a difference?

No! While financial resources or relationships can help accelerate progress toward certain goals, they are not necessary for creating meaningful change. Many successful movements in history were started by people who were passionate about their cause and willing to work hard for it.

How can I ensure that my actions have a positive impact?

Research and educate yourself about the problem you want to address.

Collaborate with others to create a more effective solution.

Measure the impact of your actions and adjust as necessary.

Listen to feedback from those you are trying to help.

Be patient and persistent in your efforts.

What are some examples of people who have changed the world?

Mahatma Gandhi  led India to independence through nonviolent civil disobedience.

Rosa Parks  sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped advance the civil rights movement in the United States.

Malala Yousafzai  advocated for education for girls and survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban.

Greta Thunberg  brought global attention to the urgent need for action on climate change

Bill and Melinda Gates  have dedicated their fortune to improving global health and fighting poverty.

How can I measure my impact when trying to create change?

Measuring results can be challenging, but it is essential for evaluating progress toward goals and making informed decisions about where to focus efforts. Depending on your objectives, you can use different metrics to track progress.

For example, if you are working on environmental issues, you could track changes in carbon emissions or ecosystem health over time. If you are working on social justice, you could track changes in policy outcomes or public opinion polls related to your cause.

How can I work with others to effect change?

Look for like-minded individuals or organizations that share your goals and explore ways to work toward common goals. This could mean teaming up for specific projects, sharing resources or expertise, or simply supporting and encouraging each other.

What are some examples of successful efforts to create positive change?

Countless examples of successful movements and initiatives have brought about positive change throughout history. Some notable examples include:

The civil rights movement in the United States helped ensure that black Americans were legally protected.

The women’s suffrage movement, which won the right for women to vote in many countries around the world.

The global effort to combat HIV/AIDS by increasing awareness, research funding, and access to treatment.

The movement for renewable energy sources as a means to combat climate change.

These successes demonstrate the power of collective action and sustained efforts toward a common goal.

What potential challenges can I face when trying to effect change?

Creating meaningful change is rarely easy—there will likely be obstacles and setbacks along the way. Potential challenges include:

Resistance from those with a vested interest in maintaining the status quo.

Lack of funding or resources needed to achieve goals.

Burnout and fatigue from sustained effort over time.

Difficulty in building consensus among various stakeholders.

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

As you found this post useful...

Share it on social media!

We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!

Let us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

Photo of author

The Editors

If I Could Change The World Essay Examples

If I could change the world, I would start by making sure that everyone had access to basic life necessities. This includes food, shelter, and clean water. I would also work to end abuse in all forms. No one deserves to be treated poorly, and no one should have to live in fear.

Lastly, I would want to give everyone the opportunity to reach their full potential. Everyone deserves a chance to succeed in life. These are just a few of the things I would change if I had the power to do so. We can all make a difference in the world, no matter how big or small our actions may be. Let’s strive to make it a better place for everyone.

There would be super heroes if this were a film. But this is reality, and it’s up to me to make a change. There are a lot of things going on throughout the world. But do you pay attention to what’s happening TO OUR WORLD? Our world is quickly falling apart as we destroy each other with violence and spread hatred toward others. THE EARTH IS HERE TO STAY, AND IT IS UNMOVING. The only thing that influences the world is us, the individuals. We are responsible for violence by murdering one another and generating hatred among ourselves.

If we could only figure out a way to love one another, life would be so much easier. We have to change the way we think in order to change the world. If I could change the world, I would start with me. I would try to be more understanding and less judgmental.

I would also spread love and peace everywhere I go. So it starts with me and then maybe, just maybe, it will spread like wildfire and change the world for good. Abuse is something that needs to stop as well. Too many people are getting hurt because of it. We need to stand up and say enough is enough! Let’s make a change and show everyone that we can do this!

Every day, our loved ones perish without reason. I can provide you with a list of circumstances. Children are presently dying of hunger all around the world. People throughout the globe are waking up to a day of misery. Innocent youngsters are being raped and murdered on a daily basis. Wives are unable to focus on their responsibilities since to the agony they feel from their husbands’ abuse. Last night at least one household was subjected to violence by an inebriated individual.

All of these atrocities can be stopped. If I could change the world, I would start with life. I would make it so that everyone had enough to eat. I would see to it that children were never again used as sex slaves or soldiers. I would put an end to abusive relationships by teaching people about respect and communication. And finally, I would get rid of all the guns and drugs that lead to death and destruction.

But alas, I cannot change the world. Only you can do that. So please, take my words to heart and make the changes that are so desperately needed in our world today. Together, we can make a difference.

Intoxicated individuals may cause car accidents, hurt people, and rip their bodies apart. Not only humans are affected by these circumstances, but also animals. Dogs are being murdered in gambled fights for money and pleasure all across the world. Animals are consuming one another all over the world. Male dogs are being murdered and robbed for their earnings because they work hard. Hardworking men and women are being killed and plundered for the money they generate.

It would be life-changing if we could put a stop to these activities. We could create more jobs and opportunities for people, so they wouldn’t have to resort to criminal activity to make a living. We could also invest in rehabilitation programs for those who are struggling with addiction, so they can get the help they need and turn their lives around. Finally, we could educate people on the importance of animal welfare, so that more people would be aware of the suffering that animals endure every day.

Teenagers are attempting suicide in record numbers due to the hatred and bullying they suffer. Lovers are splitting up, inflicting physical harm on themselves so that they may forget about their heartbreak. Children are sneaking out and fleeing as their parents laugh about the abuse they inflict on their children. People in other countries are involved in conflict, seeing loved ones perish from all the missiles and explosions.

If only I could change the world, life would be so perfect. No one would have to worry about being hurt or abused. Everyone would get along and life would be one big adventure. Just think, if I could change the world there would be no more suicide, split lovers, bullies, children running away & wars. So much hate in the world could be turned into so much love. life would be one big party that no one would ever want to leave.

So many people are hurting and they don’t deserve it. It’s not right that they have to go through all that pain. If I could change the world, I would make sure that everyone was happy and they never had to worry about being hurt again. Life is too short to spend it being unhappy. Everyone deserves to be loved and life should be a fun adventure. So let’s all make a change and start making the world a better place!

Everywhere there is someone who is experiencing some sort of suffering at the hands of another person. What are these people and creatures doing to deserve this? Is there anything, right? Nobody pays attention to all of the terrible things that are going on in our world. That no one should have to live life like this is unacceptable. People are supposed to learn to get along with each other and assist one another.

No one should have to go through life and feel like they’re not worth anything.If I could change the world, I would start by making sure that everyone is treated equally, no matter what their race, religion, or sexuality is. I would also work on stopping all the abuse that goes on in the world. Animals are being abused every day, and it’s something that needs to stop.

People are also being abused, whether it’s emotionally, mentally, or physically. Nobody deserves to be a victim of abuse. Lastly, I would work on getting rid of all the negativity in the world. There’s too much anger and hatred, and it needs to be replaced with love and positivity. If we all work together, I believe that we can make the world a better place for everyone.

More Essays

  • Examples Of Perspective Of Change Essay
  • Essay on How Did Gandhi Change The World
  • Essay on Examples Of Inequality
  • Corporal Punishment Persuasive Essay
  • Examples Of Selfishness Essay
  • Everything Is About To Change Essay
  • How Does Elie Wiesel Change Essay
  • Argumentative Essay About Climate Change
  • Narrative Essay On Game Change
  • Socio-Political Model Of Violence Against Women Essay

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

What are your chances of acceptance?

Calculate for all schools, your chance of acceptance.

Duke University

Your chancing factors

Extracurriculars.

how will you change the world essay

How to Write the UT Austin Essays 2023-2024

how will you change the world essay

The University of Texas, Austin is a large public research university with an enrollment of over 51,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students. UT Austin is the flagship institution of the University of Texas system, and is the home to some of the best engineering, architecture, and business programs in the nation.

Since UT Austin is a selective school, writing strong essays is essential for making your application stand out. UT Austin’s application involves one long essay and four short essay questions (one of which is optional), with additional writing requirements for students applying to these programs: Art/Art History, Architecture, Nursing, and Social Work.

Read these UT Austin essay examples from real students to inspire your own writing.

UT Austin Essay Prompts

Tell us your story. what unique opportunities or challenges have you experienced throughout your high school career that have shaped who you are today (500-700 words), short answer.

Prompt 1 : Why are you interested in the major you indicated as your first-choice major? (250-300 words)

Prompt 2 : Describe how your experiences, perspectives, talents, and/or your involvement in leadership activities (at your school, job, community, or within your family) will help you to make an impact both in and out of the classroom while enrolled at UT. (250-300 words)

Prompt 3 : The core purpose of The University of Texas at Austin is, “To Transform Lives for the Benefit of Society.” Please share how you believe your experience at UT-Austin will prepare you to “Change the World” after you graduate. (250-300 words)

Prompt 4 (Optional): Please share background on events or special circumstances that you feel may have impacted your high school academic performance. If your response to this question is similar to one of the Common App Personal Essays, feel free to simply copy and paste the important parts of your essay here. (250-300 words)

Art/Art History Applicants

Prompt 1 : In 500 words or less, please tell us about a time when an artwork, artist or art teacher impacted your life. How did this inspire you to pursue an education in the arts?

Architecture Applicants

Prompt 1 : Inherent in the design disciplines the capacity to impact the world around us. What does the opportunity to develop such capacity mean to you and you approach to your college education? Please limit your response to 250-300 words.

Prompt 2 : Please provide and upload three images total that demonstrate your creativity. The three images may all be of one option type, or varied amongst the two following options:

Option 1 – Either an original photograph or photographs from a camera, smart phone/mobile device, OR

Option 2 – images of an original art or design project that you have produced and authored yourself., for all, describe how the three images are representative of how you see creativity as a way to describe, reflect on, or change the world. please limit your response to 50-75 words..

Discuss the factors that have influenced your motivation and deep desire to pursue a career in Nursing. Please include any activities and/or life experiences that are related. (250-300 words).

Social Work

Discuss the reasons you chose Social Work as your first—choice major and how a Social Work degree from UT will prepare you for the future. (450-500 words)

Long Essay—All Applicants

This is Topic A of the ApplyTexas Essays . The long essay is the space to tell your story and let the admissions office know something about you that does not appear on your high school resume or transcript. The long word limit gives you time to develop and reflect on an important experience. It’s not enough to just tell a story of an opportunity or challenge; you need to dive into what aspects of your experience influenced you to be the person you are currently.

This prompt is very open-ended, so it is important to take time before you start writing to think about what subject matter you want to talk about. Make sure all elements in your essay tie together and don’t overwhelm the reader with too much information. Focus on only a few, or even just one, experiences within your essay, and dive into good detail on how your experience has shaped you as a person.

The prompt asks you to describe “unique opportunities or challenges” that you have experienced. While brainstorming ideas for your essay, don’t get too caught up in thinking that you must find something that is an obvious opportunity or challenge; think about hobbies, extracurriculars, or personal experiences that have influenced you to this day.

Here are some examples:

  • A chance job opportunity that allowed you to push yourself — Maybe you grew up in a rural area and you spent part of your time in high school tending to cows and goats. You’d wake up early before school to tend to the animals, and through that you learned to be reliable and developed a passion for caring for animals. Or maybe an acquaintance runs a small business and you were given the opportunity to run their social media to promote the business. This opportunity taught you the difficulties of running a small business, and also helped you find a creative outlet through advertising design. Either of those examples, or more unique job opportunities that you may have stumbled upon in high school, requires time and dedication, and teaches responsibility.
  • Creative hobbies — You like to design and sew clothing for yourself. While designing your prom dress, you came across an intricate bodice design that you wanted to emulate. Figuring out how the pattern came together was like solving a complex puzzle, and because of all of the challenges you have come across while attempting to translate a 2D idea into real life, you have become better at visualizing how different things around you come together, and it’s a skill you’ve carried through all parts of your life. It’s helped you visualize difficult math concepts, or organize your desk and closet space to optimize your productivity.

Short Answers—All Applicants

For your UT Austin application, you are required to respond to the first three prompts. There is also an additional prompt to let the committee know about any extenuating circumstances that may have affected your high school performance.

Short Answer 1—All Applicants

Why are you interested in the major you indicated as your first-choice major (250-300 words).

Ah, the common “Why This Major” college application essay. This essay is important to demonstrate to the admissions committee that you are passionate about the area of study you are interested in. Whatever major is your first choice, you need to take time to reflect and think about what drew you to pursue this field of study.

As detailed in CollegeVine’s article about writing the “Why This Major” essay, a couple key topics to cover are how you developed this interest, and your goals in studying this major. 

Show how you’ve looked into research or career opportunities that appeal to you, and the steps you have taken to pursue your interest, whether it be through hobbies, jobs, research opportunities, readings, etc. Do you have personal reasons for choosing this major? Detail those reasons, and explain how either a personal experience, inspirational character, or more have impacted your life and decision to study your major.

  • Biology — You have been a passionate bird-watcher for most of your life. Your father would take you around to various parks and teach you how to identify various bird calls, differentiate between males and females within a species, and more. This has developed into an interest in the evolutionary and migratory behavior of birds, and you wish to pursue biology as the stepping stone to further graduate studies specializing in birds.
  • Radio-Television-Film — Growing up, you’ve always had a fascination with movies and have become a huge movie buff. You’ve been especially interested in how the creative team creates and rig up the physical special effects and props. In your spare time, you and your friends make your own home films, and you are often the one who researches and creates any special effects and props with your available budget and resources. Though your home productions are not the most well-refined, you have had fun, and you want to pursue Film to get a better understanding of how to professionally create crazy shots and break into the film industry.
  • Linguistics — Your family moved around a lot throughout your childhood, and in every new town or city you lived in, you were fascinated by the different slang and accents of the people around you. You’ve lived everywhere — Louisiana, Vancouver, Long Island, South Dakota, Southern California, and more, and you want to further understand how these regional quirks developed and how they affect the culture of an area today.

how will you change the world essay

Short Answer 2—All Applicants

Describe how your experiences, perspectives, talents, and/or your involvement in leadership activities (at your school, job, community, or within your family) will help you to make an impact both in and out of the classroom while enrolled at ut. (250-300 words).

This is the classic Diversity Essay , which allows colleges to get to know you better and how you’ll impact their campus community.

Reflect on the things that make you truly unique. If you choose to go down the talent route, keep in mind that “talent” is a broad term that can apply to anything. It’s not just about whether or not you can juggle; perhaps your talent is your ability to lead vocal warmups before the school musical – you can write about how you’ve learned to build a sense of community using your talent.

And speaking on leadership, leadership isn’t just becoming an officer in a school organization or a captain of an athletic team. Leadership can also be demonstrated by taking charge and caring for your siblings while your parents are busy, organizing your friend group’s yearly Secret Santa, or coaching your neighborhood swim team. Even if something you did isn’t explicitly a “leadership role,” you can demonstrate guidance and management skills in other ways. 

Avoid just listing off all leadership positions you have held. This information is most likely already elsewhere in your application, and doesn’t give the admissions committee a more in-depth view of why you are passionate about the areas you have shown leadership in and what you did to better the group/environment/area around you. Pick 1-3 related experiences, and tie together how you took initiative to shape things around you. The admissions committee wants to make sure they are accepting students with initiative and determination to impact their environment. 

  • Family Responsibility — Your parents had to work late hours a lot to earn enough for your family when you were younger. Though you and your siblings have always been responsible, you’ve noticed that it’s been difficult for your younger brother with special needs when your parents were away in the evenings, so you took the time to create different activities for him. You had your brother explore various hobbies that were accessible to you, such as drawing or tree climbing around your neighborhood, to keep him busy, mentally stimulated, and help your parents. This has taught you a lot of responsibility and you would love to continue to work with children who have special needs through some of UT Austin’s organizations like the Student Council for Exceptional Children.
  • Friend Group Activities — You have a small group of friends who enjoy spending time with each other, but are terrible at planning larger, more ambitious activities. You decided that you were sick of just doing the same old thing, hanging out in the park or a parent’s basement. You started organizing day trips to the city nearby, Secret Santa gift exchanges, a day kayaking trip, and more to help you and your friends explore different activities. You coordinated everyone’s schedule and made sure to accommodate all your friends’ likes and dislikes, and have become the unofficial “leader” of your friend group. You now hope to take these experiences and work as an orientation advisor to help incoming freshmen find their group as well.
  • School/Extracurricular Events – You stepped up to the plate this year to plan the school’s Homecoming dance, and you wanted to make sure your senior dance could be as fun, inclusive, and well-planned as possible. As such, you organized a committee, delegated responsibilities, and implemented strategies to increase attendance, emphasize safety, and organize different activities that appealed to the wider school community. You gained event planning experience and hope to bring that same passion to UT Austin and assist UT Austin’s Events + Entertainment organization with bringing student-focused events to campus.

The common thread between these three examples is that they all write about a personal experience that eventually ties to how you’ll bring your gained knowledge to UT Austin. You won’t just want to name drop organizations that you hope to join at UT Austin, rather you’ll want to explain why—particularly with a personal connection. 

Short Answer 3—All Applicants

The core purpose of the university of texas at austin is, “to transform lives for the benefit of society.” please share how you believe your experience at ut-austin will prepare you to “change the world” after you graduate. (250-300 words).

UT Austin wants its students to work for the betterment of the world. This prompt requires students to reflect on their personal goals and think about their impact on society. Your response should explain how UT Austin will help you reach those goals using the “Why This College?” essay format. 

First, consider the field of study you want to pursue and what sort of impact you want to make. Maybe you want to go into public health to improve the health outcomes of underrepresented communities. Or perhaps you want to study English and Environmental Science to become an environmental lawyer. 

Keep in mind that its impact doesn’t have to be directly related to community service or altruism. For example, computer science majors can change the world by making processes more efficient. Economics majors can become financial advisors and improve the lives of others. 

If you’re not sure how your work can impact others, see if you can find alumni stories on the website of your department. Here’s the Public Health one , for example. These real-life stories can give you some inspiration on your wide range of options after graduation.

Your goals can be both big and small, but they need to be personal. The “what” doesn’t matter if you don’t write about the “why.” 

Finally, be sure to mention specific UT Austin resources that will help you change the world. Using the public health example, that student may mention how UT Austin offers a student internship program that allows students to conduct their own semester-long research projects and how that will prepare them to conduct independent public health research on minority health outcomes in the future.

It’s also important to mention relevant extracurriculars. Continuing that example, the public health student may want to join Texas Public Health, an on-campus organization, to volunteer in the Austin community and get hands-on experience in public health initiatives. 

Short Answer 4—All Applicants (optional)

Please share background on events or special circumstances that you feel may have impacted your high school academic performance. if your response to this question is similar to one of the common app personal essays, feel free to simply copy and paste the important parts of your essay here. (250-300 words).

This essay is optional and provides you the opportunity to explain extenuating circumstances that have affected your education during high school. This is not necessarily a space where you would include a creative essay about your passion for math or make a political statement. Rather this is room for you to let the UT Austin admissions committee know about any extenuating circumstances that may have affected your academic performance. 

Although in the near-past, the COVID-19 pandemic has and is still affecting many students across the world in various ways. This could be a situation that you may want to explain to the admissions committees.

Other non-COVID-related experiences may have also impacted you. If there is a circumstance, such as a loss of job, sickness of a close relative, mental health, or more that has affected your school performance, let UT Austin know here so the admissions committee may take it into consideration while reading your application. 

If any of these extenuating circumstances are written in your Common App personal statement, more likely from prompt 1 or prompt 2 , then you can include an excerpt here.

However, do not use this space as a way to excuse poor performances. Be direct, and let the circumstances speak for themselves. Also keep in mind that many students were disrupted by COVID-19 in similar ways, so you should only write about circumstances that went beyond those common experiences. 

There’s no need to take up the full allotted space or even really write a whole essay; just use as much space as needed to explain your situation.

Major-Specific Short Answer Questions

Certain majors at UT Austin require submitting 1-2 additional short responses. These prompts are brief and dive deeper into showing your passion for your intended area of study.

Art/Art History

In 500 words or less, please tell us about a meaningful way in which an artwork, or artist, has changed your life. how has this prompted your ambitions for a life in the arts.

For the art/art history major at UT Austin, the admissions committee wants to see a commitment to the arts in your everyday life. Dive deep and think about what artists inspired you, or what specific art pieces you find yourself going back to. 

Think across various mediums of art. Painters, sculptors, cinematographers, poets, or more can serve as inspiration to you. Maybe a piece of art inspired you to create your own art and got you interested in different painting techniques across different cultures, inspired you to change habits within your life, or start a band. Whatever inspired you, make sure to relate how your inspiration directly impacted you. Don’t get caught up in just describing your favorite artist or work; tie it into your own life experiences and goals.

Architecture

Inherent in the design disciplines the capacity to impact the world around us. what does the opportunity to develop such capacity mean to you and your approach to your college education please limit your response to 250-300 words..

The admissions committee is hoping to get a sense of your goals and reasons for applying to the Architecture program at UT Austin.

While impacting the world sounds like a weighty topic, UT Austin isn’t looking for you to embellish. The admissions committee wants to hear how you would apply an education in architecture to help the world in any capacity, and that goes for anything from your local community to the globe. 

First define your reasons for pursuing architecture. This is important since the prompt asks what the capacity to impact the world means to you , so you need to reflect on how you’ll impact the world and why you want to do it in that way.

Do you want to design houses in low-income neighborhoods since you grew up in low-income housing that wasn’t efficient or livable? Or do you want to design apartments with sustainability in mind since you’re from Hawaii and have seen how construction can disrupt the environment? 

When possible, mention specific UT Austin resources that will help you achieve your goals, as the prompt asks how your goals shape your approach to your college education. For the student who wants to create sustainable architecture, they may mention courses like Modern History of Sustainable Architecture or wanting to be in one of the fastest-growing cities in the US (Austin), offering many opportunities for hands-on experience in sustainable development.

Please provide and upload three images total that demonstrate your creativity. The three images may all be of one option type, or varied amongst the two following options:

This is a short prompt! The admissions committee wants to see through your eyes and get an idea of your vision of the world. Be concise in your statement, and make sure your photos have a common thread, even if it’s not initially obvious. For example, you could submit photos of the skyline at important locations or times to you, or you could submit photos of various objects that inspire you. This is a very open-ended prompt, and you can spin it to really show the admissions committee your unique outlook on life and the environment around you.

This is also a chance to showcase your creativity and artistic skill. While the program doesn’t require you to submit a portfolio, submitting some of your artwork would give you more of an opportunity to stand out, particularly because UT Austin allows you to mix and match the format of your submissions.

Another way to make your response more cohesive and concise is to submit work with an overarching theme, whether that’s various pictures of your neighborhood at sunset, or artwork you made in response to a specific topic. Tying the three submissions together with a bow will give the admissions committee a stronger sense of how you think about the big picture.

While neither of these prompts have a defined word limit, make sure to answer the question thoroughly while also keeping it brief — remember, the admissions committee is reading many applications and you want to keep them engaged! We recommend no more than 500 words.

Discuss the factors that have influenced your desire to pursue a career in Nursing. Please include any activities and/or life experiences that are related (250-300 words)

This question allows you to discuss why you chose Nursing as your first choice program. Although you have already answered why you want to pursue your first choice major in the short answers section of the application, this extra space really allows you to dive deeper into why you decided to pursue nursing as a career and allows you to show off your work towards your goal. You can add additional anecdotes about why you chose nursing that you might not have had space to include in your short answer prompt.

Before beginning this essay, write down the qualities you feel a good nurse would have. Are they compassionate, culturally aware, patient, knowledgeable, etc.?

Then, write down the activities you did that correspond with those qualities. Did you volunteer for your local Red Cross, or organize a fundraiser for your local care facilities? Did you work in a nursing home, or at a daycare to gain experience working with people with varying needs? What academic classes did you take in high school to prepare yourself for a college nursing program? 

Maybe instead, your motivations to pursue a career in nursing are more related to your own life experiences. Is someone close to you in that occupation? Have you previously worked in a healthcare-related role? Or have you had your own medical issue where a nurse meaningfully changed your perspective on medicine?

Be specific, and dive into details on how your activities or life experiences relate to developing an interest in nursing and a nursing career. Chances are, you have already listed your activities out in another section of your application. Using anecdotes about specific instances or events is crucial in offering new information that will keep admissions officers engaged, and teach them about your passion for nursing.

Discuss the reasons you chose Social Work as your first-choice major and how a Social Work degree from UT will prepare you for the future.

Similar to the nursing prompt, the UT Austin admissions committee is looking for additional information that may not have fit into previous essay answers. How do you want to give back to your community by doing social work? What specific area of social work do you want to work in? Do you want to work with mental health, child protection, human rights, or other aspects of social work? For example, if you grew up in the foster care system and you want to help children who grew up in a similar situation to you, elaborate on that.

The second part of this question asks you how specifically an UT Austin degree can help you with your future goals and career. Make sure to show that you have researched the program itself. Name specific research institutes you may want to work in, such as the Addiction Research Institute, and elaborate what issues you want to study. Relate these to the work you want to do in your future.

If you’re unsure of the specific specialization of social work you want to do, narrow it down to 2-3 interests, and talk about how you can explore various subjects through courses or clubs at UT Austin. Show the admissions committee that you have done your research on the school and truly believe that it is the best place for you to achieve your goals. For instance, someone interested in working with seniors might want to join the research team for the project Telehealth treatments for depression with low-income homebound seniors .

Where to Get Your University of Texas at Austin Essays Edited

Do you want feedback on your UT Austin essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays. 

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school.

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

how will you change the world essay

how will you change the world essay

theworldoutline.com

Just another network site.

theworldoutline.com

If I Could Change the World: Essay Outline & Guideline

There are a few crucial elements involved in this essay writing. The How? What? When? Whom? and Where? These are the questions that define this essay. The structure of the paper determines the perfect place for the answers to each of the above. If you have good tips provided by IBuyEssay professionals, you can write an original and unique essay.

Argumentative essay outline: important questions

What are your thoughts on the world we live in? Many people cherish their lives, earthly living things, and being human. A good number of the world population may lack time to think and focus on the world surrounding them. They may not notice that the world needs changes.

Does time allow you to realize this? Do you have a feeling or a belief that the world around you aren’t safe as before? When you have a couple of suggestions on how to change the earth, then you can write the essay “If I could change the world.”

If I Could Change the World: essay ideas

Begin writing your essay by addressing specific things that you believe require changes. You won’t encounter problems on these points since they are the problems that we face every day.

These problems have been here with us for a long until some people assume they can’t change anymore. What if all the people in the world gained consciousness and agreed to address one problem? In such a case, the world will be an excellent place to live.

An excellent of a problem to address is air pollution or global warming. Many issues exist that affect humanity and need your intervention. Writing an essay on change the world is an excellent chance to narrow down your essay topic. Imagine and describe the significant points in the paper on making the world a better place. You will build a perfect essay on change the world.

What will you do to change the world?

What is the most appropriate way to bring the changes? Whom will you seek for help? In this section, imagination is vital. Go deep into your topic and list the methods, ways, and strategies you will use to assist the world. To change the world, you need good resources. Think of the perfect person that will be of importance. Have a list of organizations and people and explain how they will boost your goal. You can involve some global celebrities and charities that will offer support.

Who will feel the impact of the changes?

Will your changes influence the whole society? Will some people need the changes more than others? It’s a good idea to include in your essay. Give clear indications of who will enjoy your actions. You can think of improving the lives of hungry African children. You can aim at helping animals facing global warming or improving the conditions of the poor.

When will you bring the changes?

Do your problems need immediate action? Discuss the worldwide issues that need urgent changes and can’t wait any longer. You can build a topic that relates to pressing global health problems. Then focus on incurable diseases.

Where will you make the changes?

Which area of the world will you change anything? It’s essential to have a specific location for global change. Will you target the whole world? Or will you begin from a particular area and expand later? When considering these ideas, don’t fail to mention your location in the paper.

Things to remember in your essay writing

  • Think outside the box

Representing original content doesn’t mean inventing or discovering something new. Instead, you can use other students’ essays to get points to develop your hypothesis.

  • Deep understanding

Have an in-depth understanding of the world’s problems. Prove your ability in concepts, issues, and facts you are addressing. Understand why they matter to you and the reader.

  • Develop an intelligible structure

Your essay should address issues like What? How? And Why? Also, have an introduction, main body, and a conclusion in your work. Finally, your summary should have a balanced argument.

  • Excellent language

Develop an effortless and smooth discussion for your readers to feel safe in your hands. Use natural flowing sentences, and the reader should grasp everything discussed. Check grammar, punctuation, typos, and spelling.

These are the significant facts to consider when writing how can I change the world essay. Derive the world problems and use this guideline to develop a perfect paper.

how will you change the world essay

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Logo

Essay on We Can Change the World

Students are often asked to write an essay on We Can Change the World in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on We Can Change the World

Belief in change.

Change begins with belief. We can change the world if we truly believe it’s possible. Our thoughts and actions can make a big difference.

Small Steps Matter

Every small step counts. Planting a tree, helping a friend, or recycling waste are simple actions that contribute to a better world.

Working together amplifies our impact. By uniting our efforts, we can achieve significant changes.

Think Future

We must think about our future generations. Our actions today will shape their world. Let’s make it a better place for them.

250 Words Essay on We Can Change the World

The power of individual action.

Change is a natural aspect of life, and it can be harnessed to transform the world. Each individual, regardless of their status, has the potential to contribute to this change. The belief that change is possible starts with the individual. A single action, like reducing personal waste or advocating for social justice, can create ripples that influence others to act.

Collective Effort and Its Impact

While individual actions are vital, collective effort is the driving force behind significant change. Movements like the Civil Rights Movement and the fight against climate change have shown how people coming together can create substantial impacts. This collective action, powered by shared beliefs and mutual support, can alter societal norms and create a more equitable world.

Technology as a Catalyst

In the digital age, technology serves as a catalyst for change. Social media platforms enable individuals to share ideas, mobilize support, and challenge oppressive systems. Technology has the potential to democratize information, providing everyone with the tools to understand and act on global issues.

The Journey Ahead

Changing the world is a continuous journey. It requires persistence, resilience, and a commitment to learning. It is about understanding that every action, no matter how small, contributes to a larger cause. By harnessing the power of individual actions, collective effort, and technology, we can shape the world into a place that reflects our shared values and aspirations.

In conclusion, the power to change the world lies within us. It starts with a belief in the possibility of change, followed by consistent action. Together, we can change the world.

500 Words Essay on We Can Change the World

Change is a fundamental part of human existence. It is the driving force behind evolution, progress, and the transformation of societies. While the idea of changing the world may seem daunting, it is not an impossible task. The notion of changing the world implies a collective effort, but it starts with the actions of individuals.

Small Actions, Big Impact

The first step towards changing the world is recognizing that small actions can have a significant impact. The butterfly effect, a concept from chaos theory, illustrates this point perfectly. It suggests that a butterfly flapping its wings can ultimately cause a tornado thousands of miles away. In the same vein, a single act of kindness, a novel idea, or a passionate endeavor can set off a chain reaction of events leading to substantial global change.

Education as a Catalyst for Change

One of the most powerful tools for change is education. Knowledge empowers individuals and societies to challenge the status quo and seek improvements. It fosters critical thinking, enabling individuals to question prevailing norms and ideologies. Furthermore, education equips us with the skills and competencies to bring about desired changes. By promoting education, we can create a more informed populace capable of making decisions that positively impact the world.

Technological Innovation and Change

Technological innovation is another significant agent of change. From the printing press to the internet, technology has always been a catalyst for societal transformation. Today, advancements in areas like artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and renewable energy are not just changing the way we live but also the way we interact with our world. Embracing and promoting technological innovation can thus be a potent strategy for world change.

The Role of Policy and Governance

Policy and governance also play a crucial role in world change. Sound policies can promote social justice, economic development, and environmental sustainability. They can help address systemic issues and create an enabling environment for positive change. Therefore, active participation in governance and policy-making processes can significantly contribute to changing the world.

Conclusion: The Power of Collective Action

While individual actions are crucial, collective action is the key to changing the world. It is through the combined efforts of individuals, communities, and nations that we can address global challenges like climate change, poverty, and inequality. The power to change the world is not exclusive to a select few. It resides in each of us. As Margaret Mead famously said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

  • Essay on Ways to Save Water
  • Essay on Ways to Save The Environment
  • Essay on Ways to Save Money

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Happy studying!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

We use cookies to enhance our website for you. Proceed if you agree to this policy or learn more about it.

  • Essay Database >
  • Essay Examples >
  • Essays Topics >
  • Essay on Environmental Issues

Good How Would I Change The World Essay Example

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Environmental Issues , Media , Development , Environment , Life , Belief , Emotions , World

Published: 03/08/2020

ORDER PAPER LIKE THIS

Every day we hear the stories like how this world is ruining due to poverty, violence, hunger, pollution, global warming, etc. We see people’s sufferings, and it seems like there is no strategy to fix these problems. This world is ours, and the problems here are also our problems so I think everyone should contribute to making this world a better place. But the question here is what will be mine contribution to this change or how would I change the world. So, I have some simple ways and by following them, I can make a positive change. The first step that I would take is to change my perception about the world. We all are surrounded by negative thoughts and feelings. Moreover, media have portrayed an ugly image of the world where there is evil and no good. Therefore, I will change this perception and stop indulging myself in the ugliness that media tries to throw at me. Rather, I will try to inspire myself from the beauty, compassion and goodness of the world. I will also adopt a positive approach and inspire others by my positivity. It is rightly said that to change the world you have to change yourself. When I change my way of thinking then it will change my feelings and my actions too. I start seeing the world with different thoughts and feelings then ultimately I will be able to take those actions that could not be taken before. As a result, the world around me will change. Another way by which I would change the world is helping the people in need. I would do some volunteer works like cleaning parks, feeding hungry, helping orphans and organizing local charity events. There are plenty of charity works that anyone can do by donating less time. I know little efforts can change people’s life dramatically so I will help people as much as I can. Moreover, I would inspire others and encourage them to help the needy. The world can also be changed by speaking up against injustices, inequalities and illegal practices. If I find any issue that concern me, I will sign petitions or write letters to the members of the parliament to show my concern. On the other hand, if there is anyone who treats someone badly then I will not stay quiet. Because staying quiet means, you are encouraging people who are bad. No matter injustice is done by a person, a company or a government. I will speak against injustice to bring change. In addition, the world is facing serious problems like pollution and global warming. These problems are detrimental for the world and mankind. I will stop polluting the environment and try to be as ecofriendly as possible. I will keep my environment clean and plant a garden in my house. I will save the environment by saving energy, saving water and recycle. These small steps can contribute a lot to save the environment and change the world. Persistency and belief are crucial in bringing any change. I would change the world with my persistence and the belief that I can make a difference. Gandhi said that be persistent in your life. Because when you are going to change something, people will first ignore you, and then laugh at you, will fight with you and finally you will win (Edberg, 2014). So, constant efforts and belief is necessary to change the world.

Works cited

Edberg, Henrik, 2014. Gandhi’s Top Ten Fundamentals to Change the World. The Positivity Blog. 2010. Web. 4 October. 2014. http://www.positivityblog.com/index.php/2008/05/09/gandhis-top-10-fundamentals-for-changing-the-world/

double-banner

Cite this page

Share with friends using:

Removal Request

Removal Request

Finished papers: 2752

This paper is created by writer with

ID 270378345

If you want your paper to be:

Well-researched, fact-checked, and accurate

Original, fresh, based on current data

Eloquently written and immaculately formatted

275 words = 1 page double-spaced

submit your paper

Get your papers done by pros!

Other Pages

Mate literature reviews, frontier literature reviews, charter literature reviews, octave literature reviews, stomach literature reviews, brilliant literature reviews, crown literature reviews, hacker literature reviews, guess literature reviews, subsidiary literature reviews, describing college essays, zhuangzi essays, mcgrady essays, man ray essays, henri cartier bresson essays, le grand essays, mary robinson essays, raub essays, knierim essays, saucier essays, jamal al din al afghani essays, lonsdale essays, ager essays, group roles different pieces making up a whole essay examples, free essay about complexaties of the us financial system, free critical thinking about health care problems in drc and nigeria, free literature review on causes of corruption in china, literature review on marketing, free research paper about marketing, free essay about renaissance natural magic ran into some opposition from religious authorities, in your opinion which personality theorist karen horney erich fromm or eric critical thinking examples, contracts and torts research paper examples, free essay about youth student point of view, the research question for this research study would be research paper examples, essay on director of sales, free essay on brief description of the practice system, example of research paper on business allocation, the impact of globalization is significant on oxford city centre retail businesses essay examples, applied managerial finance research papers examples, good essay about power of myth, good essay about obama care, example of essay on history and theory, the glass ceiling gender diversity and female executive leadership research paper.

Password recovery email has been sent to [email protected]

Use your new password to log in

You are not register!

By clicking Register, you agree to our Terms of Service and that you have read our Privacy Policy .

Now you can download documents directly to your device!

Check your email! An email with your password has already been sent to you! Now you can download documents directly to your device.

or Use the QR code to Save this Paper to Your Phone

The sample is NOT original!

Short on a deadline?

Don't waste time. Get help with 11% off using code - GETWOWED

No, thanks! I'm fine with missing my deadline

  • Entertainment
  • Environment
  • Information Science and Technology
  • Social Issues

Home Essay Samples Life Making The World a Better Place

How I Can Change The World and Make It a Better Place

*minimum deadline

Cite this Essay

To export a reference to this article please select a referencing style below

writer logo

  • Online Dating
  • Personal Finance
  • Self Defence

Related Essays

Need writing help?

You can always rely on us no matter what type of paper you need

*No hidden charges

100% Unique Essays

Absolutely Confidential

Money Back Guarantee

By clicking “Send Essay”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement. We will occasionally send you account related emails

You can also get a UNIQUE essay on this or any other topic

Thank you! We’ll contact you as soon as possible.

Home — Essay Samples — Environment — World Problems — How I See The World In 100 Years

test_template

How I See The World in 100 Years

  • Categories: World Problems

About this sample

close

Words: 808 |

Published: Dec 16, 2021

Words: 808 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

Works Cited

  • Bostrom, N. (2014). Superintelligence: Paths, dangers, strategies. Oxford University Press.
  • Frey, C. B., & Osborne, M. A. (2017). The future of employment: How susceptible are jobs to computerization? Technological Forecasting and Social Change , 114, 254-280.
  • Harari, Y. N. (2015). Homo Deus: A brief history of tomorrow. Harper.
  • Kurzweil, R. (2006). The singularity is near: When humans transcend biology. Penguin Books.
  • Michio, K. (2011). Physics of the future: How science will shape human destiny and our daily lives by the year 2100. Doubleday.
  • National Intelligence Council. (2017). Global trends: Paradox of progress. Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
  • Schwab, K. (2017). The fourth industrial revolution. Crown Business.
  • Tegmark, M. (2017). Life 3.0: Being human in the age of artificial intelligence. Knopf.
  • World Economic Forum. (2020). The Global Risks Report 2020. World Economic Forum.
  • Yuval-Davis, N., & Kannabiran, K. (Eds.). (2018). The futures we want: Global sociology and the struggles for a better world. Agenda Publishing.

Image of Alex Wood

Cite this Essay

Let us write you an essay from scratch

  • 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
  • Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

author

Verified writer

  • Expert in: Environment

writer

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

3 pages / 1370 words

3 pages / 1534 words

2 pages / 769 words

2 pages / 901 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

How I See The World in 100 Years Essay

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on World Problems

The assertion that "all the problems in the world are caused by selfishness" is a sweeping and reductionist claim. While selfishness undoubtedly plays a role in many of the world's problems, attributing all global issues to this [...]

Carbon is critical to sustain a huge range of Earth’s functions. It is abundant in the atmosphere (air), biosphere (living and dead organisms), hydrosphere (oceans, rivers, and lakes), and lithosphere (soli and rocks). These act [...]

The Consequences of Overfishing on Marine Ecosystems Explore the ecological impact of overfishing on marine ecosystems, including the disruption of food chains, changes in biodiversity, and the potential extinction of [...]

The Bahamas are a ground of about 700 islands and 2,400 uninhabited islets and cays lying 50 mi off the east coast of Florida. Only about 30 of the islands are inhabited; the most important is New Providence (80 sq. mi; 207 sq. [...]

Throughout history, poverty has been a challenging issue and to this date, it is a subject that many people have insufficient evidence about. Despite annual income, employment status, or overall success level, there will always [...]

The risks of global warming are real. Countries such as US, China, and other governments must implement measures to restrict the emission of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Coal has been running the wheels and warming the homes [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

  • Instructions Followed To The Letter
  • Deadlines Met At Every Stage
  • Unique And Plagiarism Free

how will you change the world essay

How can a person change the world

Introduction.

We all want the world to become better, but how can a person change the world? I believe that the answer to this big question might be quite simple. If you want to change the world, you need to change yourself.

How is it going to work? You are a part of the world, so when you become better, the world becomes better as well. You contribute to changing the world by improving yourself and working hard to achieve your dreams. When you succeed, you provide other people with an example they can live by.

It is very important to identify your strengths and weaknesses, so you have a better understanding of what is going to help you in your journey and what you will need to fix. I think of myself as a hard worker, and I believe it will help in my education. I can acquire more knowledge and skills that I can apply to solve various problems and share with others to help them. Most real-world tasks require the cooperation of many people, so I will use my good leadership skills to organize a team to work on my projects.

I believe that the quality that will help me most is dedication. It is crucial to be devoted to your work to achieve success because if you want to make a difference in the world, you need to be ready to invest a lot of your time and energy. I need to improve every day to change myself and the world for the better, and my dedication and aim for high achievement are the tools I will use for it.

When we improve ourselves, we improve the world. We need to use our strengths to serve us in our strive to become better people. Setting high goals and putting in work to achieve them is the way to live a happy and meaningful life and it leads to a better world for everybody.

Cite this paper

  • Chicago (N-B)
  • Chicago (A-D)

StudyCorgi. (2021, December 28). How can a person change the world. https://studycorgi.com/how-can-a-person-change-the-world/

"How can a person change the world." StudyCorgi , 28 Dec. 2021, studycorgi.com/how-can-a-person-change-the-world/.

StudyCorgi . (2021) 'How can a person change the world'. 28 December.

1. StudyCorgi . "How can a person change the world." December 28, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/how-can-a-person-change-the-world/.

Bibliography

StudyCorgi . "How can a person change the world." December 28, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/how-can-a-person-change-the-world/.

StudyCorgi . 2021. "How can a person change the world." December 28, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/how-can-a-person-change-the-world/.

This paper, “How can a person change the world”, was written and voluntary submitted to our free essay database by a straight-A student. Please ensure you properly reference the paper if you're using it to write your assignment.

Before publication, the StudyCorgi editorial team proofread and checked the paper to make sure it meets the highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, fact accuracy, copyright issues, and inclusive language. Last updated: November 9, 2023 .

If you are the author of this paper and no longer wish to have it published on StudyCorgi, request the removal . Please use the “ Donate your paper ” form to submit an essay.

Issue Cover

  • Previous Article
  • Next Article

Promises and Pitfalls of Technology

Politics and privacy, private-sector influence and big tech, state competition and conflict, author biography, how is technology changing the world, and how should the world change technology.

[email protected]

  • Split-Screen
  • Article contents
  • Figures & tables
  • Supplementary Data
  • Peer Review
  • Open the PDF for in another window
  • Guest Access
  • Get Permissions
  • Cite Icon Cite
  • Search Site

Josephine Wolff; How Is Technology Changing the World, and How Should the World Change Technology?. Global Perspectives 1 February 2021; 2 (1): 27353. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/gp.2021.27353

Download citation file:

  • Ris (Zotero)
  • Reference Manager

Technologies are becoming increasingly complicated and increasingly interconnected. Cars, airplanes, medical devices, financial transactions, and electricity systems all rely on more computer software than they ever have before, making them seem both harder to understand and, in some cases, harder to control. Government and corporate surveillance of individuals and information processing relies largely on digital technologies and artificial intelligence, and therefore involves less human-to-human contact than ever before and more opportunities for biases to be embedded and codified in our technological systems in ways we may not even be able to identify or recognize. Bioengineering advances are opening up new terrain for challenging philosophical, political, and economic questions regarding human-natural relations. Additionally, the management of these large and small devices and systems is increasingly done through the cloud, so that control over them is both very remote and removed from direct human or social control. The study of how to make technologies like artificial intelligence or the Internet of Things “explainable” has become its own area of research because it is so difficult to understand how they work or what is at fault when something goes wrong (Gunning and Aha 2019) .

This growing complexity makes it more difficult than ever—and more imperative than ever—for scholars to probe how technological advancements are altering life around the world in both positive and negative ways and what social, political, and legal tools are needed to help shape the development and design of technology in beneficial directions. This can seem like an impossible task in light of the rapid pace of technological change and the sense that its continued advancement is inevitable, but many countries around the world are only just beginning to take significant steps toward regulating computer technologies and are still in the process of radically rethinking the rules governing global data flows and exchange of technology across borders.

These are exciting times not just for technological development but also for technology policy—our technologies may be more advanced and complicated than ever but so, too, are our understandings of how they can best be leveraged, protected, and even constrained. The structures of technological systems as determined largely by government and institutional policies and those structures have tremendous implications for social organization and agency, ranging from open source, open systems that are highly distributed and decentralized, to those that are tightly controlled and closed, structured according to stricter and more hierarchical models. And just as our understanding of the governance of technology is developing in new and interesting ways, so, too, is our understanding of the social, cultural, environmental, and political dimensions of emerging technologies. We are realizing both the challenges and the importance of mapping out the full range of ways that technology is changing our society, what we want those changes to look like, and what tools we have to try to influence and guide those shifts.

Technology can be a source of tremendous optimism. It can help overcome some of the greatest challenges our society faces, including climate change, famine, and disease. For those who believe in the power of innovation and the promise of creative destruction to advance economic development and lead to better quality of life, technology is a vital economic driver (Schumpeter 1942) . But it can also be a tool of tremendous fear and oppression, embedding biases in automated decision-making processes and information-processing algorithms, exacerbating economic and social inequalities within and between countries to a staggering degree, or creating new weapons and avenues for attack unlike any we have had to face in the past. Scholars have even contended that the emergence of the term technology in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries marked a shift from viewing individual pieces of machinery as a means to achieving political and social progress to the more dangerous, or hazardous, view that larger-scale, more complex technological systems were a semiautonomous form of progress in and of themselves (Marx 2010) . More recently, technologists have sharply criticized what they view as a wave of new Luddites, people intent on slowing the development of technology and turning back the clock on innovation as a means of mitigating the societal impacts of technological change (Marlowe 1970) .

At the heart of fights over new technologies and their resulting global changes are often two conflicting visions of technology: a fundamentally optimistic one that believes humans use it as a tool to achieve greater goals, and a fundamentally pessimistic one that holds that technological systems have reached a point beyond our control. Technology philosophers have argued that neither of these views is wholly accurate and that a purely optimistic or pessimistic view of technology is insufficient to capture the nuances and complexity of our relationship to technology (Oberdiek and Tiles 1995) . Understanding technology and how we can make better decisions about designing, deploying, and refining it requires capturing that nuance and complexity through in-depth analysis of the impacts of different technological advancements and the ways they have played out in all their complicated and controversial messiness across the world.

These impacts are often unpredictable as technologies are adopted in new contexts and come to be used in ways that sometimes diverge significantly from the use cases envisioned by their designers. The internet, designed to help transmit information between computer networks, became a crucial vehicle for commerce, introducing unexpected avenues for crime and financial fraud. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, designed to connect friends and families through sharing photographs and life updates, became focal points of election controversies and political influence. Cryptocurrencies, originally intended as a means of decentralized digital cash, have become a significant environmental hazard as more and more computing resources are devoted to mining these forms of virtual money. One of the crucial challenges in this area is therefore recognizing, documenting, and even anticipating some of these unexpected consequences and providing mechanisms to technologists for how to think through the impacts of their work, as well as possible other paths to different outcomes (Verbeek 2006) . And just as technological innovations can cause unexpected harm, they can also bring about extraordinary benefits—new vaccines and medicines to address global pandemics and save thousands of lives, new sources of energy that can drastically reduce emissions and help combat climate change, new modes of education that can reach people who would otherwise have no access to schooling. Regulating technology therefore requires a careful balance of mitigating risks without overly restricting potentially beneficial innovations.

Nations around the world have taken very different approaches to governing emerging technologies and have adopted a range of different technologies themselves in pursuit of more modern governance structures and processes (Braman 2009) . In Europe, the precautionary principle has guided much more anticipatory regulation aimed at addressing the risks presented by technologies even before they are fully realized. For instance, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation focuses on the responsibilities of data controllers and processors to provide individuals with access to their data and information about how that data is being used not just as a means of addressing existing security and privacy threats, such as data breaches, but also to protect against future developments and uses of that data for artificial intelligence and automated decision-making purposes. In Germany, Technische Überwachungsvereine, or TÜVs, perform regular tests and inspections of technological systems to assess and minimize risks over time, as the tech landscape evolves. In the United States, by contrast, there is much greater reliance on litigation and liability regimes to address safety and security failings after-the-fact. These different approaches reflect not just the different legal and regulatory mechanisms and philosophies of different nations but also the different ways those nations prioritize rapid development of the technology industry versus safety, security, and individual control. Typically, governance innovations move much more slowly than technological innovations, and regulations can lag years, or even decades, behind the technologies they aim to govern.

In addition to this varied set of national regulatory approaches, a variety of international and nongovernmental organizations also contribute to the process of developing standards, rules, and norms for new technologies, including the International Organization for Standardization­ and the International Telecommunication Union. These multilateral and NGO actors play an especially important role in trying to define appropriate boundaries for the use of new technologies by governments as instruments of control for the state.

At the same time that policymakers are under scrutiny both for their decisions about how to regulate technology as well as their decisions about how and when to adopt technologies like facial recognition themselves, technology firms and designers have also come under increasing criticism. Growing recognition that the design of technologies can have far-reaching social and political implications means that there is more pressure on technologists to take into consideration the consequences of their decisions early on in the design process (Vincenti 1993; Winner 1980) . The question of how technologists should incorporate these social dimensions into their design and development processes is an old one, and debate on these issues dates back to the 1970s, but it remains an urgent and often overlooked part of the puzzle because so many of the supposedly systematic mechanisms for assessing the impacts of new technologies in both the private and public sectors are primarily bureaucratic, symbolic processes rather than carrying any real weight or influence.

Technologists are often ill-equipped or unwilling to respond to the sorts of social problems that their creations have—often unwittingly—exacerbated, and instead point to governments and lawmakers to address those problems (Zuckerberg 2019) . But governments often have few incentives to engage in this area. This is because setting clear standards and rules for an ever-evolving technological landscape can be extremely challenging, because enforcement of those rules can be a significant undertaking requiring considerable expertise, and because the tech sector is a major source of jobs and revenue for many countries that may fear losing those benefits if they constrain companies too much. This indicates not just a need for clearer incentives and better policies for both private- and public-sector entities but also a need for new mechanisms whereby the technology development and design process can be influenced and assessed by people with a wider range of experiences and expertise. If we want technologies to be designed with an eye to their impacts, who is responsible for predicting, measuring, and mitigating those impacts throughout the design process? Involving policymakers in that process in a more meaningful way will also require training them to have the analytic and technical capacity to more fully engage with technologists and understand more fully the implications of their decisions.

At the same time that tech companies seem unwilling or unable to rein in their creations, many also fear they wield too much power, in some cases all but replacing governments and international organizations in their ability to make decisions that affect millions of people worldwide and control access to information, platforms, and audiences (Kilovaty 2020) . Regulators around the world have begun considering whether some of these companies have become so powerful that they violate the tenets of antitrust laws, but it can be difficult for governments to identify exactly what those violations are, especially in the context of an industry where the largest players often provide their customers with free services. And the platforms and services developed by tech companies are often wielded most powerfully and dangerously not directly by their private-sector creators and operators but instead by states themselves for widespread misinformation campaigns that serve political purposes (Nye 2018) .

Since the largest private entities in the tech sector operate in many countries, they are often better poised to implement global changes to the technological ecosystem than individual states or regulatory bodies, creating new challenges to existing governance structures and hierarchies. Just as it can be challenging to provide oversight for government use of technologies, so, too, oversight of the biggest tech companies, which have more resources, reach, and power than many nations, can prove to be a daunting task. The rise of network forms of organization and the growing gig economy have added to these challenges, making it even harder for regulators to fully address the breadth of these companies’ operations (Powell 1990) . The private-public partnerships that have emerged around energy, transportation, medical, and cyber technologies further complicate this picture, blurring the line between the public and private sectors and raising critical questions about the role of each in providing critical infrastructure, health care, and security. How can and should private tech companies operating in these different sectors be governed, and what types of influence do they exert over regulators? How feasible are different policy proposals aimed at technological innovation, and what potential unintended consequences might they have?

Conflict between countries has also spilled over significantly into the private sector in recent years, most notably in the case of tensions between the United States and China over which technologies developed in each country will be permitted by the other and which will be purchased by other customers, outside those two countries. Countries competing to develop the best technology is not a new phenomenon, but the current conflicts have major international ramifications and will influence the infrastructure that is installed and used around the world for years to come. Untangling the different factors that feed into these tussles as well as whom they benefit and whom they leave at a disadvantage is crucial for understanding how governments can most effectively foster technological innovation and invention domestically as well as the global consequences of those efforts. As much of the world is forced to choose between buying technology from the United States or from China, how should we understand the long-term impacts of those choices and the options available to people in countries without robust domestic tech industries? Does the global spread of technologies help fuel further innovation in countries with smaller tech markets, or does it reinforce the dominance of the states that are already most prominent in this sector? How can research universities maintain global collaborations and research communities in light of these national competitions, and what role does government research and development spending play in fostering innovation within its own borders and worldwide? How should intellectual property protections evolve to meet the demands of the technology industry, and how can those protections be enforced globally?

These conflicts between countries sometimes appear to challenge the feasibility of truly global technologies and networks that operate across all countries through standardized protocols and design features. Organizations like the International Organization for Standardization, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, and many others have tried to harmonize these policies and protocols across different countries for years, but have met with limited success when it comes to resolving the issues of greatest tension and disagreement among nations. For technology to operate in a global environment, there is a need for a much greater degree of coordination among countries and the development of common standards and norms, but governments continue to struggle to agree not just on those norms themselves but even the appropriate venue and processes for developing them. Without greater global cooperation, is it possible to maintain a global network like the internet or to promote the spread of new technologies around the world to address challenges of sustainability? What might help incentivize that cooperation moving forward, and what could new structures and process for governance of global technologies look like? Why has the tech industry’s self-regulation culture persisted? Do the same traditional drivers for public policy, such as politics of harmonization and path dependency in policy-making, still sufficiently explain policy outcomes in this space? As new technologies and their applications spread across the globe in uneven ways, how and when do they create forces of change from unexpected places?

These are some of the questions that we hope to address in the Technology and Global Change section through articles that tackle new dimensions of the global landscape of designing, developing, deploying, and assessing new technologies to address major challenges the world faces. Understanding these processes requires synthesizing knowledge from a range of different fields, including sociology, political science, economics, and history, as well as technical fields such as engineering, climate science, and computer science. A crucial part of understanding how technology has created global change and, in turn, how global changes have influenced the development of new technologies is understanding the technologies themselves in all their richness and complexity—how they work, the limits of what they can do, what they were designed to do, how they are actually used. Just as technologies themselves are becoming more complicated, so are their embeddings and relationships to the larger social, political, and legal contexts in which they exist. Scholars across all disciplines are encouraged to join us in untangling those complexities.

Josephine Wolff is an associate professor of cybersecurity policy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Her book You’ll See This Message When It Is Too Late: The Legal and Economic Aftermath of Cybersecurity Breaches was published by MIT Press in 2018.

Recipient(s) will receive an email with a link to 'How Is Technology Changing the World, and How Should the World Change Technology?' and will not need an account to access the content.

Subject: How Is Technology Changing the World, and How Should the World Change Technology?

(Optional message may have a maximum of 1000 characters.)

Citing articles via

Email alerts, affiliations.

  • Special Collections
  • Review Symposia
  • Info for Authors
  • Info for Librarians
  • Editorial Team
  • Emerging Scholars Forum
  • Open Access
  • Online ISSN 2575-7350
  • Copyright © 2024 The Regents of the University of California. All Rights Reserved.

Stay Informed

Disciplines.

  • Ancient World
  • Anthropology
  • Communication
  • Criminology & Criminal Justice
  • Film & Media Studies
  • Food & Wine
  • Browse All Disciplines
  • Browse All Courses
  • Book Authors
  • Booksellers
  • Instructions
  • Journal Authors
  • Journal Editors
  • Media & Journalists
  • Planned Giving

About UC Press

  • Press Releases
  • Seasonal Catalog
  • Acquisitions Editors
  • Customer Service
  • Exam/Desk Requests
  • Media Inquiries
  • Print-Disability
  • Rights & Permissions
  • UC Press Foundation
  • © Copyright 2024 by the Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Privacy policy    Accessibility

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

  • Solar Eclipse 2024

What the World Has Learned From Past Eclipses

C louds scudded over the small volcanic island of Principe, off the western coast of Africa, on the afternoon of May 29, 1919. Arthur Eddington, director of the Cambridge Observatory in the U.K., waited for the Sun to emerge. The remains of a morning thunderstorm could ruin everything.

The island was about to experience the rare and overwhelming sight of a total solar eclipse. For six minutes, the longest eclipse since 1416, the Moon would completely block the face of the Sun, pulling a curtain of darkness over a thin stripe of Earth. Eddington traveled into the eclipse path to try and prove one of the most consequential ideas of his age: Albert Einstein’s new theory of general relativity.

Eddington, a physicist, was one of the few people at the time who understood the theory, which Einstein proposed in 1915. But many other scientists were stymied by the bizarre idea that gravity is not a mutual attraction, but a warping of spacetime. Light itself would be subject to this warping, too. So an eclipse would be the best way to prove whether the theory was true, because with the Sun’s light blocked by the Moon, astronomers would be able to see whether the Sun’s gravity bent the light of distant stars behind it.

Two teams of astronomers boarded ships steaming from Liverpool, England, in March 1919 to watch the eclipse and take the measure of the stars. Eddington and his team went to Principe, and another team led by Frank Dyson of the Greenwich Observatory went to Sobral, Brazil.

Totality, the complete obscuration of the Sun, would be at 2:13 local time in Principe. Moments before the Moon slid in front of the Sun, the clouds finally began breaking up. For a moment, it was totally clear. Eddington and his group hastily captured images of a star cluster found near the Sun that day, called the Hyades, found in the constellation of Taurus. The astronomers were using the best astronomical technology of the time, photographic plates, which are large exposures taken on glass instead of film. Stars appeared on seven of the plates, and solar “prominences,” filaments of gas streaming from the Sun, appeared on others.

Eddington wanted to stay in Principe to measure the Hyades when there was no eclipse, but a ship workers’ strike made him leave early. Later, Eddington and Dyson both compared the glass plates taken during the eclipse to other glass plates captured of the Hyades in a different part of the sky, when there was no eclipse. On the images from Eddington’s and Dyson’s expeditions, the stars were not aligned. The 40-year-old Einstein was right.

“Lights All Askew In the Heavens,” the New York Times proclaimed when the scientific papers were published. The eclipse was the key to the discovery—as so many solar eclipses before and since have illuminated new findings about our universe.

Telescope used to observe a total solar eclipse, Sobral, Brazil, 1919.

To understand why Eddington and Dyson traveled such distances to watch the eclipse, we need to talk about gravity.

Since at least the days of Isaac Newton, who wrote in 1687, scientists thought gravity was a simple force of mutual attraction. Newton proposed that every object in the universe attracts every other object in the universe, and that the strength of this attraction is related to the size of the objects and the distances among them. This is mostly true, actually, but it’s a little more nuanced than that.

On much larger scales, like among black holes or galaxy clusters, Newtonian gravity falls short. It also can’t accurately account for the movement of large objects that are close together, such as how the orbit of Mercury is affected by its proximity the Sun.

Albert Einstein’s most consequential breakthrough solved these problems. General relativity holds that gravity is not really an invisible force of mutual attraction, but a distortion. Rather than some kind of mutual tug-of-war, large objects like the Sun and other stars respond relative to each other because the space they are in has been altered. Their mass is so great that they bend the fabric of space and time around themselves.

Read More: 10 Surprising Facts About the 2024 Solar Eclipse

This was a weird concept, and many scientists thought Einstein’s ideas and equations were ridiculous. But others thought it sounded reasonable. Einstein and others knew that if the theory was correct, and the fabric of reality is bending around large objects, then light itself would have to follow that bend. The light of a star in the great distance, for instance, would seem to curve around a large object in front of it, nearer to us—like our Sun. But normally, it’s impossible to study stars behind the Sun to measure this effect. Enter an eclipse.

Einstein’s theory gives an equation for how much the Sun’s gravity would displace the images of background stars. Newton’s theory predicts only half that amount of displacement.

Eddington and Dyson measured the Hyades cluster because it contains many stars; the more stars to distort, the better the comparison. Both teams of scientists encountered strange political and natural obstacles in making the discovery, which are chronicled beautifully in the book No Shadow of a Doubt: The 1919 Eclipse That Confirmed Einstein's Theory of Relativity , by the physicist Daniel Kennefick. But the confirmation of Einstein’s ideas was worth it. Eddington said as much in a letter to his mother: “The one good plate that I measured gave a result agreeing with Einstein,” he wrote , “and I think I have got a little confirmation from a second plate.”

The Eddington-Dyson experiments were hardly the first time scientists used eclipses to make profound new discoveries. The idea dates to the beginnings of human civilization.

Careful records of lunar and solar eclipses are one of the greatest legacies of ancient Babylon. Astronomers—or astrologers, really, but the goal was the same—were able to predict both lunar and solar eclipses with impressive accuracy. They worked out what we now call the Saros Cycle, a repeating period of 18 years, 11 days, and 8 hours in which eclipses appear to repeat. One Saros cycle is equal to 223 synodic months, which is the time it takes the Moon to return to the same phase as seen from Earth. They also figured out, though may not have understood it completely, the geometry that enables eclipses to happen.

The path we trace around the Sun is called the ecliptic. Our planet’s axis is tilted with respect to the ecliptic plane, which is why we have seasons, and why the other celestial bodies seem to cross the same general path in our sky.

As the Moon goes around Earth, it, too, crosses the plane of the ecliptic twice in a year. The ascending node is where the Moon moves into the northern ecliptic. The descending node is where the Moon enters the southern ecliptic. When the Moon crosses a node, a total solar eclipse can happen. Ancient astronomers were aware of these points in the sky, and by the apex of Babylonian civilization, they were very good at predicting when eclipses would occur.

Two and a half millennia later, in 2016, astronomers used these same ancient records to measure the change in the rate at which Earth’s rotation is slowing—which is to say, the amount by which are days are lengthening, over thousands of years.

By the middle of the 19 th century, scientific discoveries came at a frenetic pace, and eclipses powered many of them. In October 1868, two astronomers, Pierre Jules César Janssen and Joseph Norman Lockyer, separately measured the colors of sunlight during a total eclipse. Each found evidence of an unknown element, indicating a new discovery: Helium, named for the Greek god of the Sun. In another eclipse in 1869, astronomers found convincing evidence of another new element, which they nicknamed coronium—before learning a few decades later that it was not a new element, but highly ionized iron, indicating that the Sun’s atmosphere is exceptionally, bizarrely hot. This oddity led to the prediction, in the 1950s, of a continual outflow that we now call the solar wind.

And during solar eclipses between 1878 and 1908, astronomers searched in vain for a proposed extra planet within the orbit of Mercury. Provisionally named Vulcan, this planet was thought to exist because Newtonian gravity could not fully describe Mercury’s strange orbit. The matter of the innermost planet’s path was settled, finally, in 1915, when Einstein used general relativity equations to explain it.

Many eclipse expeditions were intended to learn something new, or to prove an idea right—or wrong. But many of these discoveries have major practical effects on us. Understanding the Sun, and why its atmosphere gets so hot, can help us predict solar outbursts that could disrupt the power grid and communications satellites. Understanding gravity, at all scales, allows us to know and to navigate the cosmos.

GPS satellites, for instance, provide accurate measurements down to inches on Earth. Relativity equations account for the effects of the Earth’s gravity and the distances between the satellites and their receivers on the ground. Special relativity holds that the clocks on satellites, which experience weaker gravity, seem to run slower than clocks under the stronger force of gravity on Earth. From the point of view of the satellite, Earth clocks seem to run faster. We can use different satellites in different positions, and different ground stations, to accurately triangulate our positions on Earth down to inches. Without those calculations, GPS satellites would be far less precise.

This year, scientists fanned out across North America and in the skies above it will continue the legacy of eclipse science. Scientists from NASA and several universities and other research institutions will study Earth’s atmosphere; the Sun’s atmosphere; the Sun’s magnetic fields; and the Sun’s atmospheric outbursts, called coronal mass ejections.

When you look up at the Sun and Moon on the eclipse , the Moon’s day — or just observe its shadow darkening the ground beneath the clouds, which seems more likely — think about all the discoveries still yet waiting to happen, just behind the shadow of the Moon.

More Must-Reads From TIME

  • Exclusive: Google Workers Revolt Over $1.2 Billion Contract With Israel
  • Jane Fonda Champions Climate Action for Every Generation
  • Stop Looking for Your Forever Home
  • The Sympathizer Counters 50 Years of Hollywood Vietnam War Narratives
  • The Bliss of Seeing the Eclipse From Cleveland
  • Hormonal Birth Control Doesn’t Deserve Its Bad Reputation
  • The Best TV Shows to Watch on Peacock
  • Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time

Contact us at [email protected]

  • Skip to main content
  • Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

Life Kit

  • LISTEN & FOLLOW
  • Apple Podcasts
  • Google Podcasts
  • Amazon Music

Your support helps make our show possible and unlocks access to our sponsor-free feed.

The physical sensations of watching a total solar eclipse

Regina Barber, photographed for NPR, 6 June 2022, in Washington DC. Photo by Farrah Skeiky for NPR.

Regina G. Barber

how will you change the world essay

Science writer David Baron witnesses his first total solar eclipse in Aruba, 1998. He says seeing one is "like you've left the solar system and are looking back from some other world." Paul Myers hide caption

Science writer David Baron witnesses his first total solar eclipse in Aruba, 1998. He says seeing one is "like you've left the solar system and are looking back from some other world."

David Baron can pinpoint the first time he got addicted to chasing total solar eclipses, when the moon completely covers up the sun. It was 1998 and he was on the Caribbean island of Aruba. "It changed my life. It was the most spectacular thing I'd ever seen," he says.

Baron, author of the 2017 book American Eclipse: A Nation's Epic Race to Catch the Shadow of the Moon and Win the Glory of the World , wants others to witness its majesty too. On April 8, millions of people across North America will get that chance — a total solar eclipse will appear in the sky. Baron promises it will be a surreal, otherworldly experience. "It's like you've left the solar system and are looking back from some other world."

Baron, who is a former NPR science reporter, talks to Life Kit about what to expect when viewing a total solar eclipse, including the sensations you may feel and the strange lighting effects in the sky. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

how will you change the world essay

Baron views the beginning of a solar eclipse with friends in Western Australia in 2023. Baron says getting to see the solar corona during a total eclipse is "the most dazzling sight in the heavens." Photographs by David Baron; Bronson Arcuri, Kara Frame, CJ Riculan/NPR; Collage by Becky Harlan/NPR hide caption

Baron views the beginning of a solar eclipse with friends in Western Australia in 2023. Baron says getting to see the solar corona during a total eclipse is "the most dazzling sight in the heavens."

What does it feel like to experience a total solar eclipse — those few precious minutes when the moon completely covers up the sun?

It is beautiful and absolutely magnificent. It comes on all of a sudden. As soon as the moon blocks the last rays of the sun, you're plunged into this weird twilight in the middle of the day. You look up and the blue sky has been torn away. On any given day, the blue sky overhead acts as a screen that keeps us from seeing what's in space. And suddenly that's gone. So you can look into the middle of the solar system and see the sun and the planets together.

Can you tell me about the sounds and the emotions you're feeling?

A total solar eclipse is so much more than something you just see with your eyes. It's something you experience with your whole body. [With the drop in sunlight], birds will be going crazy. Crickets may be chirping. If you're around other people, they're going to be screaming and crying [with all their emotions from seeing the eclipse]. The air temperature drops because the sunlight suddenly turns off. And you're immersed in the moon's shadow. It doesn't feel real.

Everything you need to know about solar eclipse glasses before April 8

Everything you need to know about solar eclipse glasses before April 8

In your 2017 Ted Talk , you said you felt like your eyesight was failing in the moments before totality. Can you go into that a little more?

The lighting effects are very weird. Before you get to the total eclipse, you have a progressive partial eclipse as the moon slowly covers the sun. So over the course of an hour [or so], the sunlight will be very slowly dimming. It's as if you're in a room in a house and someone is very slowly turning down the dimmer switch. For most of that time your eyes are adjusting and you don't notice it. But then there's a point at which the light's getting so dim that your eyes can't adjust, and weird things happen. Your eyes are less able to see color. It's as if the landscape is losing its color. Also there's an effect where the shadows get very strange.

how will you change the world essay

Crescent-shaped shadows cast by the solar eclipse before it reaches totality appear on a board at an eclipse-viewing event in Antelope, Ore., 2017. Kara Frame and CJ Riculan/NPR hide caption

You see these crescents on the ground.

There are two things that happen. One is if you look under a tree, the spaces between leaves or branches will act as pinhole projectors. So you'll see tiny little crescents everywhere. But there's another effect. As the sun goes from this big orb in the sky to something much smaller, shadows grow sharper. As you're nearing the total eclipse, if you have the sun behind you and you look at your shadow on the ground, you might see individual hairs on your head. It's just very odd.

Some people might say that seeing the partial eclipse is just as good. They don't need to go to the path of totality.

A partial solar eclipse is a very interesting experience. If you're in an area where you see a deep partial eclipse, the sun will become a crescent like the moon. You can only look at it with eye protection. Don't look at it with the naked eye . The light can get eerie. It's fun, but it is not a thousandth as good as a total eclipse.

A total eclipse is a fundamentally different experience, because it's only when the moon completely blocks the sun that you can actually take off the eclipse glasses and look with the naked eye at the sun.

And you will see a sun you've never seen before. That bright surface is gone. What you're actually looking at is the sun's outer atmosphere, the solar corona. It's the most dazzling sight in the heavens. It's this beautiful textured thing. It looks sort of like a wreath or a crown made out of tinsel or strands of silk. It shimmers in space. The shape is constantly changing. And you will only see that if you're in the path of the total eclipse.

Watching a solar eclipse without the right filters can cause eye damage. Here's why

Shots - Health News

Watching a solar eclipse without the right filters can cause eye damage. here's why.

So looking at a partial eclipse is not the same?

It is not at all the same. Drive those few miles. Get into the path of totality.

This is really your chance to see a total eclipse. The next one isn't happening across the U.S. for another 20 years.

The next significant total solar eclipse in the United States won't be until 2045. That one will go from California to Florida and will cross my home state of Colorado. I've got it on my calendar.

The digital story was written by Malaka Gharib and edited by Sylvie Douglis and Meghan Keane. The visual editor is Beck Harlan. We'd love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at [email protected].

Listen to Life Kit on Apple Podcasts and Spotify , and sign up for our newsletter .

NPR will be sharing highlights here from across the NPR Network throughout the day Monday if you're unable to get out and see it in real time.

Correction April 3, 2024

In a previous audio version of this story, we made reference to an upcoming 2025 total solar eclipse. The solar eclipse in question will take place in 2045.

  • Life Kit: Life Skills
  • total eclipse
  • solar eclipse

IMAGES

  1. The changes of our world Free Essay Example

    how will you change the world essay

  2. Essays that changed the world

    how will you change the world essay

  3. Yoko Ono Quote: “You change the world by being yourself.”

    how will you change the world essay

  4. Essays that changed the world

    how will you change the world essay

  5. Our Changing World

    how will you change the world essay

  6. Essays that changed the world

    how will you change the world essay

VIDEO

  1. Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world Essay writing

  2. New Gadgets change the world #shorts

  3. Nothing gonna change our world (Essay Film)

  4. Ready to change the world

  5. A Practical Approach to Changing the World

  6. How to Change World Settings

COMMENTS

  1. Tips and Eight Examples for New Short Answer "Please share how you

    If you're feeling ballsy, maybe write about how you hope to change the world by speaking truth to power for unresponsive bureaucracies who submit you to their whims and inconsistent policies. Eight Change the World Short Answer Question Example Essays. I've provided eight examples that could work for the new Change The World prompt.

  2. If I Could Change the World Essay: Examples & Writing Guide

    To end up with a fantastic "changing the world" essay, you should do the following: Craft and polish a persuasive thesis, stating your position clearly. Find credible sources to add quotes and value to your writing. Use engaging, relevant facts for your arguments and central hypothesis.

  3. If You Could Change The World, What Would You Do

    In conclusion, if you could change the world, the possibilities for positive transformation are boundless. From eradicating poverty and preserving the environment to promoting equality and advancing education, each envisioned change has the potential to create a lasting impact on our global community. These changes are not mere fantasies but ...

  4. Essays About Change: Top 5 Examples and 10 Prompts

    2. Be The Change The World Needs. This is the gist of the famous quote by Mahatma Gandhi: "be the change you wish to see in the world.". Unfortunately, many of us get frustrated over people refusing to change but fail to see how this change should start with our perception and action.

  5. How to Change the World (45 Things You Can Actually Do)

    Step 2. Once you have your arena in which you would like to change the world, use a variety of creative thinking/brainstorming techniques to develop your idea further. One technique you could try is the wish technique where you wish for the "impossible," and then try to figure out how to make your impossible wish real.

  6. Hannah Ritchie: How 'Urgent Optimism' Can Save the World

    By Hannah Ritchie. January 5, 2024 9:52 AM EST. Ritchie, PhD, is Senior Researcher in the Programme for Global Development at the University of Oxford and Deputy Editor and Lead Researcher at the ...

  7. How Can I Make a Difference in The World

    Many individuals underestimate the power of personal choices and actions in making a difference in the world. These choices, no matter how small they may seem, have the potential to create a significant impact. One of the most impactful decisions anyone can make is to adopt a sustainable lifestyle. By reducing energy consumption, minimizing ...

  8. How to change the world (and five sources of inspiration)

    Cities. Climate action. Green economy. Clean fuels. Biodiversity. Civil society. Sustainable Development. As COVID-19 has expanded around the globe, many of our worlds have seemed to shrink. We see too little of nature, receive too much bad news, and settle for virtual companionship in place of actual community.

  9. Climate Change Assay: A Spark Of Change

    Bahçeşehir College is committed to increasing students' awareness of the changing world we live in. This climate change essay competition saw many students submitting well thought out pieces of writing. These essays were marked on their format, creativity, organisation, clarity, unity/development of thought, and grammar/mechanics.

  10. Stories

    By submitting just 500 words, each student has the opportunity to earn between $500 and $1500. Additionally, the Ballard Center is full of resources to help students make a big impact. By sharing your idea with us, we can help you make your dreams of becoming a Changemaker a reality. I'm not sure if my idea is big/innovative enough.

  11. How Can I Change the World: Essay

    858. Pages: 2. This essay sample was donated by a student to help the academic community. Papers provided by EduBirdie writers usually outdo students' samples. Cite this essay. Download. Our objective is to change the world into a united, color-blind society. Instead, we intend for, as my father advocated, people, to be "judged by the content ...

  12. How to Write the MIT "World You Come From" Essay

    Method #1: One method for approaching this essay is to think about your short- and long-term dreams and aspirations. They do not necessarily need to be career-related, although that is a good place from which to start. Once you have identified these goals, you can work backward and select from your past and present what most relates to and has ...

  13. If I Could Change The World Essay Examples

    If I could change the world, I would start by making sure that everyone had access to basic life necessities. This includes food, shelter, and clean water. I would also work to end abuse in all forms. No one deserves to be treated poorly, and no one should have to live in fear. Lastly, I would want to give everyone the opportunity to reach ...

  14. How to Write the UT Austin Essays 2023-2024

    Please share how you believe your experience at UT-Austin will prepare you to "Change the World" after you graduate. (250-300 words) Prompt 4 (Optional): Please share background on events or special circumstances that you feel may have impacted your high school academic performance. If your response to this question is similar to one of the ...

  15. If I Could Change the World: Essay Outline & Guideline

    An excellent of a problem to address is air pollution or global warming. Many issues exist that affect humanity and need your intervention. Writing an essay on change the world is an excellent chance to narrow down your essay topic. Imagine and describe the significant points in the paper on making the world a better place.

  16. Essay on We Can Change the World

    250 Words Essay on We Can Change the World The Power of Individual Action. Change is a natural aspect of life, and it can be harnessed to transform the world. Each individual, regardless of their status, has the potential to contribute to this change. The belief that change is possible starts with the individual.

  17. To Change the World, Change Yourself

    It was the American author and speaker John C. Maxwell who wrote: "Most people want to change the world to improve their lives, but the world they need to change first is the one inside themselves.". Everyone has an opinion on what is wrong with the world, yet few will do the work to improve their own lives. It is easy to draw attention to ...

  18. How Would I Change The World Essays

    I will save the environment by saving energy, saving water and recycle. These small steps can contribute a lot to save the environment and change the world. Persistency and belief are crucial in bringing any change. I would change the world with my persistence and the belief that I can make a difference. Gandhi said that be persistent in your life.

  19. How I Can Change The World and Make It a Better Place

    A domino effect. A good habit to obtain. Once you make a change to your mentality, habits, and actions, you can focus on other, bigger changes to the world. Through positivity, we can better each other making the world a better place. This essay is graded:

  20. How I See The World In 100 Years: [Essay Example], 808 words

    A newfound comprehensive understanding of the human genome now allows us to quickly eradicate diseases as well as ensure that newborn humans are born with optimal health. Evolution is compounding at a 10 X multiple, 10 years is like 100, 100 years is like a thousand and so on. All current 3rd world countries will be living comfortably and ...

  21. How can a person change the world

    You are a part of the world, so when you become better, the world becomes better as well. You contribute to changing the world by improving yourself and working hard to achieve your dreams. When you succeed, you provide other people with an example they can live by. We will write a custom essay on your topic tailored to your instructions!

  22. How Is Technology Changing the World, and How Should the World Change

    This growing complexity makes it more difficult than ever—and more imperative than ever—for scholars to probe how technological advancements are altering life around the world in both positive and negative ways and what social, political, and legal tools are needed to help shape the development and design of technology in beneficial directions.

  23. Paraphrasing Tool

    The QuillBot's Paraphraser is fast, free, and easy to use, making it the best paraphrasing tool on the market. You can compare results from 8 predefined modes and use the remarkable Custom mode to define and create an unlimited number of Custom modes. The built-in thesaurus helps you customize your paraphrases, and the rephrase option means you ...

  24. What the World Has Learned From Past Eclipses

    For six minutes, the longest eclipse since 1416, the Moon would completely block the face of the Sun, pulling a curtain of darkness over a thin stripe of Earth. Eddington traveled into the eclipse ...

  25. Here's what it's like to view a total solar eclipse : Life Kit : NPR

    On April 8, millions of people across North America will get that chance — a total solar eclipse will appear in the sky. Baron promises it will be a surreal, otherworldly experience. "It's like ...