The theme for this month’s IndieWeb Carnival is impact. In the announcement, Xandra, who is hosting the event this month, noted “has someone made a profound impact on you?” as a potential question to explore.
While saying to a friend “I’m not sure where to start with such a big topic,” followed by a smiling face emoji to take the tension away from the prospects of coming up with an answer, I had an idea. It’s funny how things work out that way. I had been thinking all day in the back of my mind. Then, an idea came to me after re-reading the above question.
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Over the last two years, I have passionately noted, documented, and shared moments that brought me joy. A consistent theme among the posts is the kindness and joy of strangers. Like the taxi driver who shared their thoughts about philosophy as I was visiting a new city for the first time. Or the tourist who left money under my coffee cup while I was playing piano in public. Or the woman who danced in the streets of New York as she walked, the spring in her step giving me energy as the night fell and I became more tired.
Together, all of the stories I wrote down, and the many more that exist as sentences in my notes – mental bookmarks to which I can refer in the future to remember good times from the past – collectively show how little acts make all the difference.
Counterintuitively, someone may never know when they bring joy that radiates through the weeks, months, and years. The taxi driver who spoke to me about philosophy probably didn’t think about how that conversation was exactly what I needed.
I was en route to Des Moines and my flight out of New York had been delayed several times due to a plane fault and poor weather. I missed my connecting flight from Chicago to Des Moines, so I spent the night. I wanted something to lift my spirits after the stress of the day. The taxi driver did just that – from his words and stories, I felt joy. I pondered the universe and our place in it.
I strive to be joyful to the extent I can, and to share stories like those I admire.
Writing about stories from now, no matter how seemingly big or small the moment, is a contribution to humanity. For all of our words offer a snapshot into what the world is like right now, and, at the same time, help us discover the direction in which we want to go. Indeed, all creative acts move us forward: through art, we discover what we can do, what we can make, and how we want to live.
When I was young, I used to think about how people could achieve “great” things: from engineers to scientists to entrepreneurs. Growing older, I realise that big accomplishments are but one way to measure one’s impact.
What matters most is the values that one has and the goals that one sets themselves. Is the programmer who invents a neat algorithm any more significant than the person who helps inspire others’ passion for the craft? One’s opinions may vary, but I would say the contributions are of equal measure: both push the world forward, but in different ways.
One day, I hope to invent a neat solution to a technical problem – the kind of solution that makes an engineer say “neat!”, and that can be used by many others to solve similar problems. Although as I write, of equal importance is my time spent explaining the amazing algorithms that others have made to solve problems. Like how reverse indices help us find information quickly, or how sets can be useful for clustering documents according to their themes.
I want to share knowledge, document what I have learned, and be a comfort and joy to others. I want to emphasize the joy of learning and creating things. I want to make people smile because I said something funny, or because I told a heartwarming story, or because I helped someone understand a topic that had previously been perplexing. I want to share wonder and inspire curiosity. I want to leave stories that remind us that the world can be a spectacular place, and that the seemingly little things can make all the difference.
This is the impact I want to have.
