Small Acts Make Big Differences

Social change can happen with the small actions of dedicated individuals. This is the theme to the story Friday Everything Has Changed because of the actions of Ms. Ralston. Ms. Ralston was and ordinary woman who taught a class of students, not much younger than her and she was asked a question by Alma. There was a water bucket that only the boys were allowed to carry to the river and back. The boys thought of it as a symbol of power. Alma then asked why girls were not allowed to carry the water. If Ms. Ralston didn’t react like she did everything would have stayed the same and none of the girls would have had a chance to take the water. “After a long moment, when she finally spoke, Ms. Ralston, instead of saying, “Why that’s out of the question, Alma,” threw a bombshell of her own: “I’ll think about that,” she said – as if, you know, she would – “And I’ll let you know next Friday”.” When Ms. Ralston said that she probably didn’t know how big of an impact that was going to cause because it didn’t seem like anything big, but over some time is made changes in the society. The theme of the short story also relates to the quote by Gandalf. The quote by Gandalf states, “Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found.”. This means that someone who has a lot of power isn’t the only one who can make a difference in the world, it can be done by regular people doing small actions. “I have found that it is everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps darkness at bay.”. It relates to Ms. Ralston because she doesn’t have much power, but she was still able to make a big change for the better with the small actions. There are many ordinary people who do things in our community that have ended up making a huge difference in our world. There were two brothers in middle school named Marc and Craig Kielburger who did lots of international travel and the experiences changes their lives. They started taking and showing people what they have experienced and started a campaign called ME to WE. Their goal was to work with developing communities to help free children and their families from poverty and exploitation. They wanted to expand and include empowering youth at home, helping them connect with global issues and social causes. Also, they started partnering with schools to help inspire young children make a difference within the classroom. They created an event called WE Day which is powerful event held in over 15 cities across the United States, Canada, the UK and the Caribbean. It brings together speakers, performers, educators, millions of young people and students to inspire and celebrate incredible change and to help make differences in our world.