Youth Category 2nd Prize

GENERATIONS OF HARMONY FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

by Dario D'Andrea
Italy, Age 18

There is a place where love becomes something I can touch with my bare hands, a place where my needs are entirely fulfilled and I feel safe from every kind of danger. That place is my home, where I live with my family. We are a close group of four people who live a simple, yet comfortable, life in a nation ranked as one of the top eight most industrialized countries in the world. We eat three times every day, we have a satisfactory house, two cars, nice furniture and we can afford to go on vacation for one month every year. I live surrounded by serenity, and some of our friends maintain that we live in harmony.

I can't really imagine a better life, for I have received a lot without any merit. I'm a teenager, like many others. I wear nice clothes and have gone to school everyday since I was six. I'm hoping to do something with my life in the future that will allow me to have everything my parents have, if not something more. Sometimes I worry that I'll not pass a test, if a person likes me or not, or if I'll succeed in something useful and productive. But there are moments in my life that go beyond simply whining about these meaningless issues.

There are moments when I feel a deep pain in my chest, as if there is not enough air to breathe. The appearance of harmony in my everyday life vanishes while I wonder - how many people are not as fortunate as I am? How many mothers don't have food to feed their skinny children? How many children have to work in a mine? How many families don't have a place to call home?

All over the world it's happening: hunger, crimes, diseases, homelessness. Though I haven't been directly exposed to such extremes, I know they exist. It makes me thankful, though in some respects, miserable - not being one of them, and being instead one of lucky people who live in the world of abundance. That's the real proof that there will never be true happiness in the world without helping all people who are suffering in the world. My little existence will never find harmony without dedication to other people, to those less fortunate than myself.

People such as Dr. Albert Schweitzer opened his eyes to the true meaning of life: reaching harmony through helping people who live in Third World countries.

Economists predict that the twenty-first century will be marked by globalization. Others believe the Internet is the real symbol of this century. Why can't we change this century to be remembered in history as the one committed to creating a world of harmony? It was impossible in the fifteenth century for most people to imagine the world as a sphere. It was unacceptable in the eighteenth century for most people to believe that men one day were going too be able to fly. Today there are no boundaries between the possible and the impossible. Today what is considered impossible: tomorrow becomes possible, and just because there are people who believe in making human dreams reality.

There is a place on this earth where people of every nationality have to forgive past mistakes, learn from the errors and look ahead to the future with bright collaboration. The place is the United Nations. I believe the United Nations is the organization that can change the world, the place where harmony can be created and spread over the entire world. For this reason my biggest dream is to be able to work in this organization in the near future. My ambition is to be able to make a change in the world, convincing everybody of the necessity of peace, equality, and justice.

It is a hard goal to achieve, and it will take the commitment of study and dedication. There is something I do everyday that brings harmony within my grasp: within the reach of the world. Every time I respect any belief different from my own, every time I offer my help to people in need, every time I smile at a person I've never met before, I see the marvelous essence of harmony.

I ask you to join me in the mission to awaken emotions such as love, respect and friendship in people's hearts. Life is not a simple sum of success and wealth that a person can reach in some decades. Life is too short, and we'll not bring our wealth with us when we die. Everything we build is our dedication to create a better world for future generations because from generation to generation our dream of harmony will become a true, powerful and wonderful reality!