by Andie Anderson

Created on: April 26, 2008   Last Updated: April 29, 2008

When you get to your half-way point in life there is a kind of epiphany of sorts.
Mine is that I look back on my life and ask where did I come from and where did I get to and where am I going. What is my little contribution to this planet.

I read an article this morning that humanity was once close to extinction some 70,000 years ago. We have something like 6 billion people on this world now, many people who probably contribute absolutely nothing to society for whatever reason or other. Contribution to society and humanity is a personal pledge I believe, my pledge is that in some small way I have made someone get off their lazy butt and done something to improve them self creatively or to themselves or others. It may not be recognized in the annals of history, but I will know that somewhere a life was changed for the good.

I want to show others that they need to preserve the environment in some manner so that we won't lose the precious gifts that are bestowed on us. Once something is extinct, it's gone forever. Many people may think zoos are a terrible thing but there are studies being done to see why a certain population of animals is declining. Some people would never see these animals in their natural environment because not everyone has a ton of money to go to a far off land to see about elephants, lions, polar bears, etc.

I would like to pledge to humanity this and that I would like to help someone learn to read who can't, reading has opened up my eyes to a great number of things about others and myself. What I can do for a small percentage may be the gift for many or at least I'd like to think so.

The tools for living a full life so that before I die I can say I did something useful other than earn a living, clean a house, or raise kids or some pets, I would like to contribute my small amount of knowledge to make someone else's future look brighter and more hopeful. When you're young you don't really care about others, when you get older you read the paper but detach yourself from problems in the world, but when you get alot older when time seems to be fleeting and yesterday seems so long ago, you ponder the whats, the whys and what could have been and feel a little sad.

I've seen friends go on to successful careers, but the career I chose seems to run away from me, I can't find the work I want, it's not dependable, it is frustrating with the politics of it all, the broken promises, and so forth. I wonder why I picked my career in nursing, did I really help someone, I don't know. I feel with my creativity I can help someone though, and now I have more time due to lack of work and I feel I need to pursue that goal, self achievement through the arts, whether it be photography, writing, or painting. I'm not a very good artist, I've seen better, but I found a niche in photography and writing where photo journalism may be the very thing I can give back, a piece of my soul.

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