You Must Be The Change You Wish to See in the World

In 1954 John Steinbeck's novel Sweet Thursday was published.

In 1997 I was a senior in a small town high school and deeply longed for a different life.

Sweet Thursday was a sequel to Cannery Row, and acquired its title because Sweet Thursday is the day after Lousy Wednesday and the day before Waiting Friday.

Sweet Thursday took on an entirely different, and circuitously related meaning for me. Tired of the teen angst and apathy around me, I turned to books for an escape. Steinbeck's novels appealed to me because, although overly dramatic, I believed I was going through my own Great Depression. The Grapes of Wrath painted so honestly images of people who were persevering in the face of much greater troubles than mine. It was inspiring. So too, were the words of my mother, "Maybe the best way to forget about your own problems is to quit thinking about yourself and do something for someone else."

I heard her words, but wasn't ready to listen or act upon them. Instead, I checked out book after book by John Steinbeck from the public library. Eventually, I read Sweet Thursday. And I thought about how for many people Wednesdays were lousy and Fridays were the days people waited for the weekends. I thought about how a good portion of many people's lives were spent sourly waiting for moments they could call their own. For brief sparks of joy. For some small sweetness to satiate them. I decided to take my mom's advice and create a life not so much about my so called "hard times."

So, on Thursdays, I began practicing Random Acts of Kindness. Every week I had something to look forward to, a moment to create, some small and bright instant to illuminate my life.

This has been a hard winter, and before it winds up being the winter of my discontent, I better realize that Thursday is almost here. That there are 52 weeks in 2010-which means there are 52 opportunities to create moments of joy in the lives of those around me.

Maybe I won't change the world, but I'll settle for being the better version of myself.