"I wanna leave my footprints in the sands of time"...according to Beyonce.
But what does it even mean to leave something behind? I guess you could call that a legacy. So what does a legacy look like? We all want to be remembered as something great. We all want to know we made an impact somewhere, somehow. But, let's be honest, it doesn't look like fame and fortune for everyone. Not everyone is a star in the public eye. Not everyone made the worlds first Apple product. Not everyone is winning a Noble prize. So what does it look like to leave a mark?
I'm going in to the film industry. I have a desire to be known as a great Art Director but what happens if I don't reach that goal? Did I waste my life? What happens if I only stay in the low-budget indie world scraping by? Does my title define who I am? What I've done? I know I won't design any ground breaking sets. But does that really matter in the long run?
In my opinion, our legacy isn't in the work we publish or the buildings named after us but our legacy, your legacy, is in the lives we touch. I don't want to get all mooshy and goowey on you but that is more important than objects and things. Yes, I want to be the best Art Director I can be but more importantly, I want to affect the lives around me in a positive way. I want to change people's lives. The way they think, the way they act, the way they view the world. So as long as I can be around people, it doesn't matter what title I have, what power I accumulate, or how much money I make. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to stop striving for those things, but at least I know it won't be the end of the world if I don't reach those. I will not have wasted my life, but instead, I will have left a legacy. An affect on the people around me, hopefully for the better.
So what happens if we all take this mentality? Maybe there would be no more back stabbing. Maybe there would be no more sexual harassment. Maybe there would be no more jealousy. And maybe, just maybe, we might leave the people around us a little better than before. Maybe, just maybe, they will say "I Was Here".