Vision? What?
"Vision? Why a vision statement? This isn't a church or anything ..."
The way I see it, everyone has a vision, an ambition of some sort. Maybe it's not so far-reaching as the boundaries of this world, but everyone has a future s/he sees for him/herself, whether it be grandiose or everyday. Someone's vision could be simply to find a good husband and settle down and take care of house and home for her family, while another's can be to go out and offer medical aid and assistance to those in need, but both visions are sound and admirable.
While I don't believe in projecting my life in the future by making long, elaborate plans, I do believe that everyone needs a vision to inject some meaning, some direction to his/her life. I don't believe that every "vision" has to be set in stone because, let's be honest, we change with every second we're alive. I believe in adaptability, in change, but I also believe that, even as the details of our lives change, passions usually remain aligned. And, so, my "vision statement", in essence, my goals, my dreams, my ambitions -- and, above all, why I write ...
To be the change.
"Changing the world one story, one song at a time ..."
As an internationally born Korean, I've always been met with two worlds, and I could never belong in either. To be a Korean- (blank) is to be a hyphen, essentially, and this lack of "belonging" has always been a struggle of mine -- and still is. I've never dealt directly with racism or prejudice in any way, but I know it's out there -- but that isn't mainly what I'm addressing, only a part.
Granted, the world I see is one without racism, where the colour of your skin or the shape of your eyes or the texture of your hair means nothing, but the world I see goes beyond simply racism. I see a world undivided by the boundaries of language and culture and bound together by the deeper languages that touch the soul: music, art, film -- because none of these requires a language to be understood, simply a heart to be felt. I see a world that freely accepts what is different and doesn't seek to conform "different" to "status quo;" I see a humanity fueled by the desire to grow as a whole with the ability to sacrifice one second, one minute to helping those in need. I see a people able to forgive, to move past the strange and unfamiliar to embrace a foreign way of life, all subsisting in a world that doesn't cage itself to restrictions and a set list of laws and rules, that doesn't condemn those who stray from the familiar path.
If I could challenge just one person to open his/her eyes to see a different world, I would count that an accomplishment. If I could make just one mind think, I would count that a dream come true. If I could provoke just one person to change, I would count that a life well-lived.
I'm not an amazingly skilled person; I'm just another somebody in this big, wide world able to piece words together; but, maybe, just maybe, that's enough. And maybe it's all cliche, but, for once, I embrace that cliche; for once, let me be cliche. Let me be just another somebody floating around this world, but let me be just another somebody who can write things of substance and provoke thought. Let me be an instrument of change. Let me help in bringing that ideal world to fruition.
That, for me, is enough, and that is why I write.