Step back for a moment and look at the world, put everything aside, work, responsibilities, and struggles, what do you see? People, 7 billion of them to be precise. Civilizations, architecture, roads, cars, shops, phones, clothing, and the will of a people to make the world a better place, every child, adult, or senior having given or giving something to the world. All of this has one thing in common: progress.

From the dawn of time, we find things that can improve our lives and the surrounding people. Giving insight of our ideas and possibilities for a better tomorrow. We invent new products, arts, technology and architecture, giving us a path for sustainability. We are never satisfied with a new invention or idea; we make it, use it, then want to make it better, time after time.  Humanity never stops, we never stop exploring new ways to make our lives easier and venture beyond the unknown, whether that unknown is the possibilities of tomorrow or the frontier of space. But as things develop beyond our understanding, it is hard for our new generations to adapt and create new ideas that can surpass the ones of the past.

Take light for example, thousands of years ago we discovered the power of fire, the ability to light our journeys, and bring us out of the dark, but also the power to create darkness and destroy. We had candles; they gave us that warm feeling inside, but we found them a hassle to light and keep buying so we set out to improve. We brought up ideas that would help reduce costs and make human life more sustainable, so we made oil and gas lamps, longer lasting and more sustainable to use. We used them for decades, but then we said, “There has to be an easier way,” and one man answered the peoples calling, Thomas Edison. He created a source of light that we wouldn’t have to worry about lighting, only paying the electric bill. He made the people of the world’s lives easier. Throughout the rest of time not much has emerged just LED and other lightbulb design, but in this day and age, the introduction of sustainable energy will be the next frontier of improvement. Sometimes in this new generation, it’s a question of, “Can we make it better,” can we push it even further?

Some of us ask ourselves how we can contribute to the progress of our planet, especially the new generations. How can we compare to the technological masterminds of our past? It’s a struggle, but some kids are owning up to the challenge to make a better tomorrow, such as Greeley West student Nathan Olson. During his time at Greeley West, he has found a passion in coding and computer science that someday could benefit his career. He feels that one day he can push the envelope and create a better world for others, but also, he believes we can all work together as one and not be separated by our physical appearances or ideas.

“I believe we can all be happy, we all just need to have more sympathy and compassion towards each other, whether it’s race, religion, or political parties we all need to be more accepting of others,” said Olson.

But soon his view of himself came into the light. “I want to be happy with what I’m doing, that doesn’t mean love or money, it means working hard at my career so that I can impact the lives of others,” Olson said.

Olson felt as though his happiness and talent for coding could come in handy when impacting the world. “I want everyone to be sympathetic towards each other, and I can’t get the whole world to do that, but I can use my career and talents to imply that to the world,” Olson said.

If we look past technology and science, we can see people, inventive and creative people, people that have the minds to create extraordinary artworks or writing. Some of the world’s greatest accomplishments come in the form of material things, from a few brilliant people such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Bach, and Shakespeare. These people saw their artworks and musical pieces reflecting life and peace, telling the story of mankind.  It wasn’t just a piece of work it was a masterpiece.

Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa was not just a woman, the smile captured the curiosity and imagination of humanity, her mystic surroundings gave it mystery and a personalized perspective for every viewer. Mona Lisa was not just art, but it encapsulated the human spirit. Michelangelo’s Pieta was not a statue but a resemblance of the beauty, poise and emotion of the human drama, the love of human, and the divine love. Shakespeare produced one of the first works of English, his stories held emotion and character, each and every person in his works not only felt real but alive. His works had a great impact on the world today, giving way a path for emotion and passion in novels. Last, we have Bach, the god of music, and his most famous piece, Ave Maria. This song could lift the human out of their earthbound thoughts and feelings. It could entrance them in their minds and imaginations.

We can never recreate these enormous milestones in the world’s history. The new generations can take the next step into making the next marks in history that one day in the future, kids will look back and think how they can improve them. It’s a never-ending cycle of improvement that never gets easier. Some kids are saying, “Can I be the next mark in history,” and their work ethic resembles their dream.

Greeley West student Ahuj Panta is working towards this goal, and his dream is a mindset everyone should have. “I believe we need to innovate and create things that we need at the time,” Panta said. “I don’t think we should focus on one city or group of people we should focus on the whole world, have an uprising of people that will bring innovation to the world.”

Besides his dream of having everyone innovating the world, he went a little smaller, to his community. “I want to help the world in any way that I can, it doesn’t have to be big or small, I just want to know that I didn’t waste my time here,” Panta said.  “I want to work with social justice work so I can help my community and the less fortunate, it would open my mind.”

Panta knew that he wants to impact the world using his talents and ability to bring people together, but he knew that he could push the boundaries of what we have accomplished in the history of the world, “I need to be confident in what I do, I don’t have to be some big corporation to push the envelope, I can do it by myself, by using my knowledge and talents.” We all need to remember that we are part of something bigger, we are part of a civilization that builds, creates, and introduces new ideas, and to carry them out we need to share them and bring them to the attention of the world.

Sometimes we see the world as complete and as “good as it can get” but we need to remember anything, and everything can be improved. We can make anything better to make the human lives easier. Panta and Olson give great examples of what the world needs: we need creative people, leaders, thinkers, and problem solvers. We need people that can come up with new ideas and people to carry them out. I know you might be thinking, “I can’t do anything,” but you can.  Panta said, “The easiest way people can make a difference is talking, it doesn’t seem like much of an impact, but it’s a great way to get the ball rolling on new ideas.”

So even the little of us can talk to impact the world, but we all have something to give to the world. Just remember, you don’t have to be greater than the world, just greater than yourself.