My love for the nonprofit sector is not some summer fling. It cannot be likened to a passionate affair, destined to be short-lived after the fires of passion burn out. It’s not the kind of love that will become a story of the past when I finally settle down with a calmer, more realistic and stable choice.

This, my friends, is the real deal.

Impact is everything.

But what exactly is impact? Is it quantifiable? Or is it the stories that we tell? Is it simply a “change”? An improvement? Does it have to be widespread? Can it be small? Does it have to affect a certain amount of people, places or things? Can it affect just one person, one place or one moment in time? Is it something you can see, or count or measure? Or is it just a feeling?

But you know what seems even more unfair? That despite all we know and all we are capable of, there are still going to be thousands of young people with the drive and brilliance to change their lives who will not be able to get ahead. The systems in which we are living and working are set up to benefit some, while the walls others are expected to climb are being built higher and higher.