By "Ann" Chatriya Lertwicha

Awarded First Place in the 4th Junior IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, Thailand, Northern region.

Everyone has a dream for the world. It is a great place to live, and all of us strive to make it a better place still. The world is such a big place it seems almost impossible to imagine changing it, let alone a small girl like me. But I believe that nothing we do is ever in vain. Every little thing we do will add up to great impacts. In the end, wouldn’t it be great if everyone is working towards the same goal: making this world a better place?

In thinking about how we can change the world, we must focus on children, our future adults. The world needs active adults in order to develop; therefore, it will be wonderful if children can be made aware of heir responsibilities for others, and what they can do for the world in which they live.

Today we children are becoming more and more individualistic. We think for ourselves and like freedom. I have to admit that I myself appreciate freedom very much. But in being individualistic, it is very dangerous that we may care more about ourselves, and the room in our lives for others will diminish. Media which surrounds growing children stress the importance of individuals: who you are, how you look, it’s all about you. This, in itself, is not a bad thing. I find it easier to care for others when I know what I like and dislike. The hardest thing, then, is probably how to bridge understanding of oneself with caring for others.

To bring about a change in the world, we must first target the smallest environment: family and local community. When I am upset with something, my mother says, “Think of people who are less fortunate than you: soldiers who lost their legs, children who sleep by the road.” It helps me realize that life is not all about me. There’re people suffering more than I do. Parents can help their children by exposing them to different aspects of lives as my mother has done with me. She tells old stories that teach morals. She encourages me to watch movies that present different kinds of suffering like death, war, and poverty. She buys me books that tell stories of failures and victories; the opposing forces in the world. And she finally sums them all up in taking me to visit local villages, showing me reality. Children who are exposed to these sorts of things will never again think about only themselves. I always keep in mind my responsibilities to these people who suffer. I know I am more fortunate, and therefore it is my duty to help them. If I could change the world, I would encourage all parents to teach their children as my mother teaches me. If parents cannot teach, then I would encourage schools and the local community to work together on raising the social awareness. Schools can incorporate social service and local fieldtrips into the curriculum.

The next target for change is a bigger environment: one’s nation. I recently watched a Korean drama series called Jumong. Jumong was the leader who restored the crumbled Ancient Choson kingdom to its former greatness. In doing so, he helped the people who had been enslaved by foreign invaders. The drama showed his unconditional love for everybody. He sacrificed his own happiness, losing both his parents and his family, to helping people who suffer. Although it was not the history of my own country, I couldn’t help feeling deeply moved when I saw his passion. Everyday I wrote about Jumong in my journal; about how much I am inspired by his revolutionary act. When I look back, I am surprised to see how determined I became during the course of this drama to make a difference. His determination lit up the fire within me, the fire to fight for other people. How great would it be if my country produces such a drama of our very own history? How great would it be if we could feel the passion of our ancestors and their struggles? Once the pride and passion for one’s country is created, I feel like nothing can stop us from fighting for our nation to develop. If I could change the world, I would encourage each nation, especially Thailand, to collect its national and local history, translate them into movies, historical novels, and story tales, and make them mandatory in schools, reproduce them in such a way that our heroes come alive. It works best when we feel heroes are humans just like us. History books and most historical dramas today, for most students including me, are informative but not moving. There are a lot of wonderful stories in local villages that will soon be forgotten if no action is taken. Some countries have already started collecting and reproducing folklore and are experiencing a great success. Also, children must be made aware of national problems at present. Governments, schools, and even communities can hold activities that will raise this awareness, such as volunteer camps to visit hill tribes, camps to help your own village repairing a small dam, camps to visit slums, camps to visit public schools, etc. But family will probably be the best place to expose children to national problems. So this can also be built on the strength of family nurturing.

Finally, the target for change must focus on an even bigger environment: our globe. I recently attended a session of Model United Nations. It was a conference in which students from various schools represent different countries as delegates. Global problems were brought into discussion, such as human trafficking, border security, immigration. That was when I realized how very little I know of global problems, such as global warming. When I switched off the AC in my room, I had never thought of the action as more than just saving money. When I came back from the conference, I started watching the news. The more I watch, the more aware I become of how severe these problems are.

As citizens of the world, we cannot ignore these problems. The trick is how to get young people to start watching news and taking action. If I could change the world, I would really encourage sessions similar to Model United Nations, which in Thailand is currently only for international schools. Thai students hardly ever hear of these activities. In my school, I am assigned school projects to discuss global topics, relating local to national to global history. I think this is very important. I feel that everybody in this world shares a single history, even after each region has developed its own identity over time.

My mother once said,

“People from the 1960s--the Vietnam War generation are responsible, caring, passionate, and revolutionary. We hear from the radio about how people are dying. We only think about how we can help other people.”

And people call my generation “Videogame Generation”, the self-centered and technology-oriented. But I have a belief that no child is born stupid or self-centered. My dream is that all children will be nurtured into great adults, and our future may not be as murky as it seems.

To read the other essays click the links below:

“Isabel” Nathagan Seiermann's essay

“Ice” Anawat Wongupanun's essay