What If?

By Annya Baral

What if the world stopped in wonder, not fear

and questioned what it is to be human,  

beyond borders, beyond gender, beyond power.  

What if food wasn't a privilege but a right,  

and no child slept with an empty belly at night  

while others threw excess into nothing?  

What if women navigated the world

without warning or apology,

treasured for their minds, not numbered by their compliance?

What if education kindled fires rather than ticked boxes

fostered curiosity, rather than conformity

and all minds had the autonomy to develop?

What if we saw the addiction in our hands,

the way our screens have substituted for our senses,

and opted for presence rather than distraction,

for connection rather than convenience?

What if we faced injustice with action, 

not with hashtags, but with listening, 

with the courage to change?

What if we observed dignity in every human being— 

not as an ideal, but a responsibility?

The world that we leave to future generations is shaped by what we ignore.

So what if we didn't?

What if we began today?

By Annya Baral