Understanding and Laying the Foundation for Social Change

Last class we a pretty lengthy and thought provoking discussion about what exactly is social change.  Up until this point, I have never truly or deeply thought about the idea of social change and the resounding impact that it can have on people.  I have always brushed it off as lofty, academic, idealistic term that is used to conquer the impossible and solve all of the world's problems.  I continued this way of thinking throughout most of our discussion until one of my classmates, Cambell, used the words "building a culture" and used a real world smaller scale business example to describe social change.  As a realist and very analytical person, this really struck a cord with me and social change became a tangible idea.  This was just one of many "light bulb turning on in my head" moments that I had during last weeks discussion.  It is important to distinguish social change from charity and also to realize the possible pitfalls in applying social change.  I look forward to reading everyone else's blog and the many hours of future class dialogue.

Recently, we held our annual New Scholar Weekend, where 17 high school seniors who will be attending Ohio State next year as Evans Scholars come for an orientation weekend to our house.  This has always been a week that I look forward to and have always been actively involved in as a part of the New Scholar Committee, but this year as President with much more leadership experience, the weekend felt different.  I had the realization that I am now the upperclassman that they look up to.  In our society, having a title is not a pre-requisite for leadership, but it is definitely a catalyst.  This has the biggest impact when leading by example because when you hold a formal position, your actions are always noticed and scrutinized under a microscope.  It is imperative to have consistency between your ideals, words, and actions.  Doing this will demand respect and "buy in" from your peers.  In no means are you done here, but this lays the foundation for social change.