Complaining may raise awareness but it doesn't change anything in our society or world. There are simple solutions to problems that seem monumental because these issues have gone unchecked for so long. If you want to be the change then you have to quite simply be that.

For instance, if you want to be able to speak comfortably with your friends about religion, then you need to establish that kind of relationship with them by speaking about it openly, and being none judgmental during these conversations.

If you want people to understand that not all African Americans are the same when it comes to hair, violence, and education then you need to be a teacher to those who generalize. You need to be the example of what an African-American outside of that stereotype is like.

From my own experience as someone who doesn't drink or smoke, and against the use of profanity, I have helped others to change their behavior. Many of the friends I've made at Hampton University were accustomed to drinking and smoking from a young age. Many were comfortable with the uniform use of profanity in nearly every conversation. Many, after meeting me, have decided on their own to refrain from doing all such activities due simply to the example I set. I realized that I did not need to preach to them why these things were bad for their body and image but to just be the one person to refuse to take part in any of those things. It also takes being able to withstand the peer pressure from those who do not respect your decisions. If you easily give in to what others pressure you to do then you are still setting an example; the example that is is better to give in than to stand firm on what you believe in.

We all need to learn to open ourselves up and reveal what true light in this world resembles. Be the outsider that doesn't drink at parties or the only man in college that wants to abstain from sexual interaction or the girl out of poverty that doesn't have a child out of wedlock. Be the change you would like to see and finally realize that if we all become the change then the world would be a much better place to live in for the generations to come.