Column: Change is incremental

By Rachel Allred

Published Oct. 29, 2010

On the day of my seventh birthday, before my friends arrived for my totally great party, I excitedly ran to the bathroom to look at myself in the mirror. I was barely tall enough to see my face over the sink, but my plastic princess heels gave me more of a height advantage. My reflection in the mirror was not what I wanted it to be. Disappointed and scowling, I moped around the house.

When my mom asked me what was wrong, I said, "I don't look any different." Since I was a year older that day, I should look different, more grown-up. I had this notion that between the last day of being six and the first day of being seven, I was supposed to undergo some drastic change. My hair was supposed to be longer. I was supposed to be taller. I was supposed to be prettier. But to my dismay, the day I turned seven, I had the same ratty hair, the same awkward smile and the same petite frame I had the day before. It didn't make sense.

That was when my mom taught me a lesson, and I had an "Aha!" moment. She explained to me that growing up isn't something that happens overnight. Instead, we change just a little bit everyday. Because the changes are so gradual, we might not notice them right away, but when we look back, they become more obvious.

The seven-year-old, impatient me had difficulty grasping this concept. I wanted change, and I wanted it immediately.

Similarly, drastic changes in society or individual lives are rarely evident in a few days or even a few years. At times, it might seem like no change and no progress is being made. We expect life to be significantly better, the world to be much happier and our laws to be fairer today than they were yesterday. Those expectations don't seem to be met. I once heard someone compare this quest for change to an upward spiral. While moving up the spiral, it feels like you're just going in circles and not gaining anything. All the effort put into reform seems pointless. But eventually, you reach the top and realize how much change actually has been accomplished.

Such upward spirals can be seen throughout the course of history. Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620, but it wasn't until more than 150 years later that the Declaration of Independence was implemented. Public schools didn't begin desegregating until nearly a century after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. Steps are continually being taken to increase equality and improve the quality of life.

The seeming lack of change despite much-publicized efforts to affect change is often discouraging. However, the greatest changes come only after determination, integrity and patience have been practiced. We have to actively wait, to do what we can to encourage alterations, but recognize it might not happen right away; to be willing to be vigilant and accept that things take time, but not become complacent during that time.

When I look in the mirror tomorrow morning, I'm going to see the person I saw before I went to bed tonight. But my reflection a year from now will be different and show the changes that have subtly occurred over 365 days. Today, I have the same green eyes, shy personality and quirky smile I had 13 years ago, but I've also changed a lot. I'm more confident, more educated, more thoughtful. Few, if any, of those changes happened overnight.