MILLENNIUM ESSAY CONTEST ENTRIES; LOOKING FORWARD: CHANGING TIMES

As I sit here thinking about millenniums, both current ones and the ones-yet-to-come, I reflect on the advances made in the past 1,000 years. Although the word "millennium" means to me "a new change," it is truly amazing the way that times have changed with all the inventions and innovations that have been made! Wow!

With all that has happened in the years leading up to this one, I wonder what the future will hold. Will we find a cure for worldwide diseases such as HIV/AIDS and cancer? Will we finally gain the colorblindness that generations long before us have dreamt about in order to escape these primitive ways of judging people by their outside instead of their insides? Will the history books of our great-grandchildren's children show us as pioneers blazing the way, just as today's books show about our ancestors, or will we become a blur in their past? Even though I have fait in our ability to accomplish many more feats, the thought of all the possibilities are endless and slight mind-boggling.

My wish for the new millennium, for the 2000s, is to see more people doing positive things with less hatred and bigotry towards others the word "we" is so much more stronger than the word "I." I hope that someday civilization as a whole will finally realize this, use the knowledge that this makes available and becomes better because of it. More cooperation and less war and fighting will make every country in the world so much more plentiful. I know that this has been a goal for many, many years before us, but we are still severely lacking.

In closing, what I would like to see as we cross into the future 1,000 years, is for our minds to open to all the possibilities and wonders yet to come. Even though the technological advances that we have all ready devised are awe-inspiring, they are merely building blocks for tomorrow. We need to have faith in what is to come. Remember these last few words of advice: Faith is the strength in ourselves. We are the men and women who are making out "Now's" into "Then's" for our children. Let's make the most of is as Jan. 1, 2000 comes and goes.

Happy New Year to all!