Make A Difference

     One day we will all be gone. One day the things that we do today will not matter. One day our name will be unknown to everyone. The life we live now will not be known to anyone on the face of the earth in years to come. Everyone on the earth will make an affect on someone somehow. However, the difference that you make is not what is important. What really matters in the long run is what type of difference you make.
     I actually heard this quote a few years ago at a funeral. I didn't know the man very well, but I knew of him. He was my ex-boyfriend's father, Shane. Shane was a depressed and divorced alcoholic that lived with his parents and did not pay child support. Depending on the person you talk to, you will get a different description of his personality. If you ask his children, Shane was a wonderful man and worked hard to please them. If you ask his ex-wife, Shane was a man that no longer is who he was 20 years ago; this man drinks, does not have a job, and does not care about his kids. If you ask his parents, Shane was a wonderful child that got lost in his adult years. If you ask me, Shane was a depressed man that put bad thoughts and ideas into my ex-boyfriend's mind.
     When Shane's son and myself were dating, Shane was going through a lot of mental issues and always passed out in the garage because he didn't want to go inside. His son was depressed, like his father, and resulted to self harm. What do you do when the man that you are supposed to look up to doesn't give you an example of what you should be? If you don't know any better you will follow in his footsteps.
     His son, now, has drank every weekend since his father died, sleeps with numerous different girls, and smokes constantly. It doesn't matter if you make a difference in someone's life if it is not a good difference.
     On the other side of the spectrum, there are people that have passed through this world that have made an enormous difference. Martin Luther King Jr., Jesus, Gandhi, and many more people. You hear of these people all of the time and you wonder, how could one person make such a lasting impact on the world?
     My life goal, the one thing I want to do before I die, is make a lasting positive difference in someone's life. I don't mind if I don't make some wonderful change in the world. As long as I impact one person's life, then I will die happy.
     If the difference you make does not affect one person, or even the world if you are lucky, in a positive way, is it really worth it?