This I Believe: Change.

I believe in the power of change as a driving force in life.

As the years drag on and one’s life passes before one’s eyes, change stays important. This is not merely the change of the day to day, “oh that person has a nice new haircut,” variety, but instead occurs over an extensive passage of time and has a momentous impact on life. The change I am discussing is not always the most apparent, but it does have the most profound effect.

            Such monumental change took place in my life when I had a parasite on my forehead in my junior year of high school.  While spending the previous summer in Israel, I had contracted Leishmania major via the bite of a sandfly on my forehead. As this eventually developed into an open ulcer, it became obvious that this deformity was here to stay. After months of little change in the condition of the quarter-sized ulcer and innumerable methods exasperated, my parents and I decided to try a radical treatment.

            After receiving this new treatment for 15 days, the parasite finally began to slowly improve.  By the time I had my final infusion, two months later, I finally noticed a huge difference in the condition of my forehead

            For months on end, I had endured a barrage of questions from those around me on what the situation was on my forehead. For months on end, I would constantly repeat, “I think it’s getting better!” with a hopeful smile. But the truth is, I was lying. Even then, change was slow to come. During the winter months of my junior year, I had feared that it would never go away, and I would perpetually have this abhorrent ulcer on my forehead. But two months after the last infusion, I woke up one day, looked in the mirror and realized that the ulcer was gone. Even now, I still hear remarks on how much it has improved. What I gleaned from this adventure is that change is slow but certain, and one of the most crucial part of life. Change was not something I was able to see day to day, and only at the conclusion of this part of my life could I truly appreciate that change is the most vital aspect of life.

            While this all may seem superficial to one who hasn’t had this experience, the lessons of the story go much deeper than the surface, pun intended. While many things in life change, there are many that go unnoticed. As I come to one of the largest crossroads of my life, graduating high school, I look back on my last 17 years. It’s absolutely amazing, everything that has changed in that time, even down to the last week or month. Ferris Bueller once said poetically,“ Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” This is the statement that I believe in the most. 

(This was an assignment in my Senior English Class) 

Change, how bout it?
Make it.