I Am The Messenger by Gabija

I Am The Messenger by Gabija - February 2015 Scholarship Essay

When told they can change the world, most students begin thinking that that would require finding a cure to cancer, ending world hunger, or anything else similar to that scale. However, putting these monumental goals into action is not only incredibly difficult, and partly impossible, but also overlooks what changing the world actually means. Sometimes, you actually have to take a step forward and look at the smaller picture. See what you can do around you. See what worlds you can change in the neighborhood.

Hence, the book everyone in high school should read is 'I Am The Messenger' by Markus Zusak. The novel takes place in a neighborhood in Australia and centers around a very young taxi driver who has done very little with his life but wants to do something big. After stopping a small burglary and becoming a hero for the day, he begins receiving cards with addresses in his mail. As he visits each of these addresses, he realizes he's meant to help each of the families in one way or another. From giving moral support to a single mother of three kids, to helping a family free themselves of their abusive father, to just spending time and easing the loneliness of an elderly woman, he is unknowingly changing their worlds. Soon he realizes that he didn't have to change the world to actually change the world. If more people were to help out their neighbors or give out aid to those in need, the world would change itself.

This novel would resonate with many young folks and their attitudes on the world. If more people became aware how doing something little could make such a big change, more people would definitely be willing to do it. This novel would change the outlook of many people, and these people could follow simple steps to branch out in their community more and help one another. Isn't that what schools aim to teach students these days through volunteer work? Reading 'I Am The Messenger' would go hand in hand with that idea and give motivation that it doesn't take as much as people believe it does to change the world.