You Are Defining and Defined by Social Responsibility

The first observation of a social issue can be confusing for a young person. Noticing extremes of wealth and poverty from one neighborhood to the next—or from one country to another—or hearing statistics related to literacy and school dropout rates in developed countries can be shocking. While growing up, how did your community of family, friends, and teachers respond to social disparities? Were they ignored or confronted? Did you perceive a sense of helplessness or responsibility to help? Whether you feel burdened by, or called to address, the myriad of social concerns in the world today, your response stems, in part, from how you see yourself in the world in relation to others.