Ordinary People Create Extraordinary Effects on the World

“Social change can happen with the small actions of dedicated individuals.”

Small actions hold great power. Every little thing we do matters and they can affect us, others, our community, and sometimes even our world. Small actions are not always easy and often small acts of kindness take courage. “Social change can happen with the small actions of dedicated individuals”, Ms. Ralston is a perfect example of this. Ms. Ralston is just an ordinary person who did an extraordinary action. Her small action had a strong impact on her students, school and even society. There are many examples of Ms. Ralston’s small actions but the ones that  showed me just how bold and brave Ms. Ralston is, is when Alma asks her why the girls don’t get to carry the water bucket. Ms. Ralston doesn’t just laugh, instead she takes her question into consideration. Although this is just a small action this would affect her class in a big way. If she would have just laughed, it would have made Alma and the rest of the girls feel worthless, and that they are not as important as the boys. The other small act that Ms. Ralston did, was hitting the home run. Normally hitting a home run doesn’t seem like a big deal, but this was just a small action that showed her students that girls are capable of not only hitting home runs, but so much more. Because of Almas question Ms. Ralston experienced internal conflict but in the end she said “next week Alma Niles and Joyce Shipley will go for the water.” Ms. Ralston is a dedicated individual that caused social change for the better. Social change doesn’t have to come from someone famous, it can just be an ordinary person. Gandalf once said “Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I have found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay… small acts of kindness and love.” Gandalf believes that it is the small deeds of ordinary people that can make the biggest change in the world. This relates back to Ms. Ralston and her big social changes she made with small deeds. You don’t have to be rich or famous to change the world. Ordinary people make the biggest changes. An example is Chuck McNeill. Chuck McNeill was in ninth grade and he was bullied because he wore a pink shirt on the first day of school. Because of him we now celebrate pink shirt day and we stand up against bullying. He did a small act such as wearing a pink shirt to school even though he is a boy. This small act took courage because at the time he did this, boys didn’t wear pink. Pink was supposed to be only a girl colour, so he got bullied. He did not let the bullying stop him, he told some of his friends and together they created pink shirt day where everyone where’s pink shirts. The pink shirts symbolize standing up against bullying. Because of Chuck, he inspires boys to wear pink and everyone to take a stand against bullying. Chuck was just an ordinary kid and he impacted the world greatly, just like Ms. Ralston did.