The future is so unpredictable and immeasurable. Anything is possible for both humanity and our own individual selves. Take it from this journalist’s perspective: I don’t know what my future might hold for me and that’s not a satisfactory thought to have, is it? Everyone has plans or ideas for what they could do in the future, but no vivid details about how that future turns out.

As it turns out, humans are the only animals in the world–and for now, our presently known universe–that have the ability to think about the future, and the ability to determine it. We’re also one of the few animals that have effectively created different varieties of language. We have the capabilities for reason, emotion, love, and genetic mutations. We can also shape our society, and thus, the world.

Wow, what did we do? It wasn’t until the 21st century that our society finally recognized more gender issues and progressivist actions, yet the issue of equality continues. Authoritarianism is now more rampant than ever in countries such as Sudan, Cuba, North Korea, Somalia, China, Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia, Eritrea, Syria, and more. Additionally, the United States, with Donald Trump as president, has increasingly backed authoritarian ideals, though thankfully we still have our systems of checks and balances to counteract authoritarian rule here.

Scandals all over the world–in the United States, Israel, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela–have been plaguing our societies. The world is nearing catastrophic damage, due in part to decades of climate change. The world won’t end, but millions will be negatively affected by climate change no matter what society does now.

Our economy has changed and is now shifting into a tech-based future economy which has led to further inflation of costs. At the same time, college is now a practical necessity for survival: no more low paying jobs, just new, changing jobs. Our society has once again created its own racial and gendered  disparities in everything including environmental consumption, workplace harassment, crime rates, mortality rates, job availability, etc.This is usually in regards to one certain group who wants something more than others and by any means necessary.

Inflation over the years has made living middle class living nearly impossible. It is only possible with a college education or a shared breadwinner role. Our daily lifestyle may forever change in the coming future. Educational systems aren’t as equitable as most people assume, especially since minority students in America aren’t offered as many resources as that of non-minority students. Most minority students are taught to feel intimidated and do worse than they should. America’s opioid epidemic has reached critical levels, with prescription and synthetic drugs being a common killer in our great country. These concerns have only just become more severe in recent years, and we’ve done a pretty lackadaisical job of maintaining what we’ve created in this country.

It seems crazy in this day-and-age that with all of the world’s muddle of chaos, people still manage to keep their level of cool in these disastrous fields in which we’ve played ourselves. The younger generation continues to fight for what’s right in our society, while the rest of the older adults continue to roll with the punches in life. It’s true that the planet and our society’s future depends on the amount of action we plan on taking now, but it’s just as true that so many working-class Americans don’t have the time or energy to really concentrate on other aspects of society. Americans work like crazy–unlike any other nation–and we all eventually become insipid workers who just end up being so busy in our daily lives. Our own personal circumstances consume our every action and thought. Change is awful. Our own habits often get overlooked over time. Any change to these habits threatens our lifestyles and people are willing to defend that lifestyle with their lives.

We have to stop. We’ve all got to acknowledge that the problems in our world are real and worth talking about. We’ve all got to accept our personal faults in not caring or being indifferent to today’s issues. We all should concede that although Americans are busier than ever, we can all contribute more and try to give more to society–and maybe the future won’t be totally lost from our grasp.