World We Dare to Imagine

I’ve always wondered why I was born into the family and environment I was while others were born into the families and environments they were. It’s not as if I did something to deserve my place; it was merely luck. It’s always seemed so unfair to me that everyone has different starting points in life, but if I had to choose one thing that could potentially place us all at the same starting line, I’d say it’s education.

I believe that education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty that currently exists in our world. While perhaps not sufficient in itself to transform communities, I believe it’s the first step to any sort of sustainable change. I particularly believe in the power of literacy. When someone has the ability to read, both literal words and financial figures, I think they gain so much power in a world that takes advantage of people who don’t have those skills. This newfound power, then, opens the doors for bigger hopes and dreams, both for those receiving this education and for their communities.

Ideally, education should be free for everyone because no one should have a monopoly on knowledge, but the reality is that education costs money. I believe that the government should provide this money, but I am aware that not all governments have the resources to do so or that not all governments want to do so. Where governments fail, I think other organizations should step in, whether that be the U.N. or any other organization whose mission it is to provide education.