Making a Difference

     I am not, nor do I think I will ever be a famous writer, nor philosopher, nor scientist, nor activist, nor politician, nor anything that's going to change the world. I probably won't find the cure for cancer; I'm probably not going to discover a new planet; I probably won't find a new way to answer an otherwise, previously unanswered question about existence or life or what comes after it; and I'm probably not going to write a break-through novel that will hit #1 on all the charts and change lives like the way some incredible books have changed mine. Is it possible? Yes, I suppose so...Is it probable? No, not so much. 
     I mean don't get me wrong, I have faith in my life turning out to be everything I've always wanted it to be, and I'm going to reach for the stars when it comes to the life I'm going to live. I expect it to be nothing less than spectacular...But for me to think that a life can only be spectacular if you reach the eyes or ears of all the world, that's so impractical, so egocentric, and so inaccurate. So, I won't think that. I used to..I used to think the only way I could make a difference was by being famous, by having my opinion publicly aired on every TV in America, by getting hundreds or thousands or millions of people to believe what I do. But here's the thing, you don't have to push your way into the minds of millions to make a difference. You can make a difference with a single word, with one smile, with a fleeting glance, with a gentle touch. You can make a difference by being there...just as you are...for those that you love more than anything in this world, for those that you don't yet know, and even for those that you don't particularly get along with. 
     This blog is my way of making a difference. No, not everyone reads my blog...there aren't many people who do. But that's okay, I don't need everyone to read it. Not everyone would understand it. But when someone takes the time to reach out to me and say, "Hey Bri, I read your blog, it's awesome, I love reading it!!" or "Hey Bri, you're a great writer!" or "Hey Bri, I totally agree with this blog post," or "Hey Bri, I definitely know how you feel. I thought it was just me!" or the best one I've heard, "Hey Bri, your blog has inspired me." Those are the things that make me happy. To know that for at least one second, I made a difference. 
     I'm not changing the world, and I'm probably not changing anyone's life, but hey, I'm making someone else feel a little better, helping someone relate, writing and publishing the words that others may be too afraid to write, or may not have the ability to write. I don't have to change the world. If I can make someone feel something for even a split second, I've accomplished all I could hope for. 
     That's what I love about reading and writing...it's sharing a perspective. And while, yeah, there's going to be a million people that don't feel the same way, there will someday be one person that feels the exact same thing, and that's something you can share with that person, whether they know it or not. And that's enough for me. 
     And now, I leave you all with a quote in the words of John Green, from my favorite book on this earth, The Fault in Our Stars: "People will say it's sad that she leaves a lesser scar, that fewer remember her, that she was loved deeply but not widely. But it's not sad, Van Houten. It's triumphant. It's heroic."