The idea of changing the world seems very crazy, but there are a number of small everyday things we can do to make the world better.

Alisia Orosco, 10, wanted to show her love and care to the sick kids at University Children’s Hospital in Texas, where her brother had been a patient. She earned money by doing part-time jobs and used it to buy different toys for the children in hospital. Now she visits three hospitals every year with bags of toys.

High school students in a town of Washington made a difference in the lives of some poor children by building a playground at a workers’ camp. They got a lot of help from building supply stores which provided free building materials for the project.

Teens in New Jersey decided to offer their help at the local soup kitchen where people with no homes can get free food. But there wasn’t one. They created a one-day soup kitchen and were able to feed 60 poor people and allowed them to take the rest home. Their efforts got more people to understand the great need of the poor in their community. Because of their efforts and success, a permanent soup kitchen was created with the $10,000 National Award they received from Newman’s Own Inc.

High school students in Las Vegas helped 30 homeless adults prepare resumes(简历) during a job fair they held at the area’s largest homeless shelter. At least nine of the adults later found jobs.

My neighbors across the street take pride in one of the most striking trees in the neighborhood — a towering oak that is over 75 years old. This year, after a wet, warm summer, leaves were a bit different in my Massachusetts town. And through some combination of events, that glorious oak seemed to have dropped all of its uncountable leaves on a single windy day. I arrived at home that afternoon to find our front walkway, driveway and sidewalk completely blanketed.

My son and I had a great time making a leaf pile for jumping and enjoying pillowy fun. The whole time, I was fascinated by the speed of this year’s leaf drop. Even though I was aware that it was an accident of wind patterns that left all the leaves in our yard, I kept looking up and feeling a rush of awe at the suddenly bare branches that watched quietly over our neighborhood, starting its restful season before setting spring leaf buds.

And I felt thankful for those fallen leaves as I was reminded of my favorite quote from the author and naturalist Hal Borland. He wrote it referencing October, but this year’s later drop had me change the month: “November is the fallen leaf, but it is also a wider horizon more clearly seen. It is the distant hills once more in sight, and the enduring constellations (星座) above them once again.”

When I lay in that pile of dry, crisp leaves and looked up into the oak tree across the street, I felt a clarity and peace that comes along with the inconveniently early sunsets and chilly temperatures of the transition from fall into winter. I could still admire the tree as I had in spring and summer, but I could also see through it, beyond it, to the big sky that blankets us all.

Some of my fondest memories with my family are from when I was in middle school, when the three of us enjoyed trips that I remember vividly to this day. But during my younger days, like 4 or 5 years old, we vacationed in places like Cancun, Jamaica and Hawaii and I can’t tell whether I actually recall those memories or whether I'm filling in the gaps through photo albums.

A frequent discussion I have with my coworkers and friends, who are also in their 20s, is how we wish our parents had taken us on more vacations when we were much older. What I suggest is to hold off on those grand vacations until your kid is about 12, when they can begin to understand what a privilege is, and you can save the international travel until they’re in high school. Of course, I do understand that sometimes, is not the kids but the parents who just want to enjoy a vacation. But in other cases, when the main goal is to create family memories, you can still accomplish that in other ways.

It wasn't until college that I realized how important travel is, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought about wanting to redo those family trips now. Especially during a time in my life when an international trip is outside of my budget, I think about how much money my parents spent on our vacations that ended up being a complete blur.

I’m not telling you to deprive(剥夺) your children of fun family memories, either. I’m simply arguing that you should travel locally or within your state. Although your little ones might not care about the destination, they will remember that you are all together and have a great time. That’s the most important things anyway.