When All We Need is Change: A Reflective Essay on Underdevelopment

They say that change is the only constant thing in this world. With that, I agree. As time passes by, it’s human nature to keep on improving everything because we have unlimited desires. As soon as we succeed in developing one thing, we certainly won’t stop there; we will continue on developing that thing until we realize that we have already used up all our resources and we have finally reached our limit. This is the reality of life. Unfortunately, not everyone have the means to improve and the resources to develop –that is why underdevelopment exists in our world today.

When we were tasked to bring a photo of underdevelopment in class, I realized that I do not need to look far from the university. I just took my mobile phone, went out of our apartment, and took a photo of the street where the ever so famous proven in Raymundo Gate could be found. This certain street is also dubbed as “Poverty-stricken Road” but I personally call it “Rocky Road”. I chose to capture that place as my image of underdevelopment because of one obvious reason that compared to the main road and other streets on that area, that street is definitely underdeveloped. Compared to the cemented main road, this “Rocky Road” is literally rocky and muddy as well. I could go and on with the comparisons but then, none of my words will change their current situation.

The irony of underdevelopment is this: “To those who have, more is given”. Those who need it cannot afford it. And those who have it don’t need it as much as others do. Underdevelopment exists because of inequality. There are so many ways to cope with poverty and underdevelopment but it costs for someone to uplift their current states. The cost is definitely not low as most of the time, this is one of the main reasons why communities and even underdeveloped countries could not afford improvement. This veracity is saddening because of the fact that socio-economic status dictates one’s development when it has to be experienced by all.

If only people will be more vigilant. If only people will be more assertive. If only people will be more sensitive to the reality that our world needs change. If only people will learn to set aside their own personal motives and interests. If only people will be a little more selfless. Definitely, our world will be a better place. If only those highly advanced and well developed countries will absorb the situation of the underprivileged nations a little bit more, maybe we could significantly improve their lives. Trivial actions, when done by all, will produce huge results.

All we need is change. Change in our selves. Change in our communities. Change in our nation. Change in our world.