I was recently walking around St. Louis. While waiting for a walk signal, I noticed two homeless men on the curb, standing just three feet away from me. They carried signs and walked through traffic in hopes of getting money, food or anything that was offered. They walked around lethargically, yet went to each car with vigor, knowing that their lives depended on the people in the cars. They needed hope to continue living their difficult lives.

As the light changed to green, the passing cars drove by without a glance at the two men. Maybe one or two cars opened their windows and handed pennies to the people, but that was it. Then the signal flashed “walk” and I, too, passed the two men without giving a single penny.

After passing them, I had an epiphany: No one is forcing us to care.

No one is forcing us to do volunteer work. No one is forcing us to care about the environment. No one is forcing us to go to class at 8 a.m. Ultimately, no one is forcing us to become better people. We can easily go through life taking the easy way, living with blinders and caring only about ourselves. After college, we can get good jobs and earn money, build a big house, buy lots of cars, spend money and spoil ourselves-and no one will stop us. We can isolate ourselves and forget about the people around us.

But doesn’t isolation and following materialism seem hollow? If we only chase after money, we will be left with hollowness and purposelessness.

Only wanting an abundance of money shows a lack of ambition. We need to show richness in ambition, because the only way to achieve big is to think big.

That day, while I was waiting for the walk signal, I did not give the two men money, and nothing happened. There was no criticism from other people, there was no grade penalty, there was no negative evaluation, and there was no fear that something bad would happen to me because I was apathetic.

But I owe it to myself to become a better person; I owe it to myself to challenge what I already know. It doesn’t necessarily mean that I should donate every penny to every person in need, but I should be cognizant of who I am as an individual and make sure that I am making a difference.

The truth is that sometimes it is hard to make a difference or to simply care. Have you ever felt lost in the crowd? Or that one person just can’t do it all-that you are helpless? How does an individual stand apart when everyone else is trying to do the same thing? How does someone make a difference?

I guess these questions encompass my entire point, though: It should be difficult to make a difference. But you should not make a difference because you were forced to, but because you wanted to.

Don’t let hardships become an impediment to what you want to achieve, because no matter what, it will be hard to make big achievements. Instead, allow it to teach you and make you a stronger person. Hardship and failure are inherent, both are inevitable, but the important part is your reaction to the hardships. Will you succumb to failure or will you allow it to motivate you? The decision is in your hands.

Samiksha Tarun is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences.