Music has always been an important and influential part of my life. It is the one art form that speaks to me in such a way that has given me entry and understanding to the world.

The other day while out on a run, the lyrics of one song became really apparent to me. The song is by one of my favorite social justice singers/artists Michael Franti. The song is called “Never Too Late”.

And though you might think the song title is cheesy because the phrase “never too late” is cliché, the song is not. The song is about friendship, family, and the idea that life is meant to be lived and learned.

For such a clichéd phrase, there is much meaning and a reminder that change is possible.

Working as a World Hunger Intern and studying Public Health, it would be easy to become depressed about the daily goings-on of the world. Between poverty and racism, malnutrition and disease, climate change and hunger, there are more than enough problems to spend your day in tears.

This is where I get excited about my work and my future.

It is never too late to start the day over, because if it was, I would not ever be gainfully employed. Besides my employment (which is insignificant in the grand scheme of things), in our lives and in the world, we would never have change, we would never prosper, and we certainly would never look forward to the future.

Just as Franti says it is “never too late”, he also artfully states in the song, there is no need to “fear the long road, because on the long road you got a long time to sing a simple song”.

This summer I’ve realized that we all need to sing our own simple songs to help us grasp that it is “never too late”. We all need to find our vocation in helping to heal the gravity and depth of problems that exist in the world.

Though the answers to my vocation are being revealed to me now, I am thoroughly excited to live out my call to advocate for change. It is my hope that I will always live by the phrase it is “never too late”, because if I don’t, not only is my innate optimism gone, but also, my fire for life would be extinguished.

Share