For Asafa, Cake, Hubz, Rai, Greggers, Chel, Wheezy, Noodles, Neeks, Jacket, Hops, Scotty, Sondra, Hulk, Orin and all the other Shapers old, new and in cities across the world

In just over a month (December 27), the Georgetown Hub will be celebrating its third anniversary and I am a happy, happy woman because it came to be. Words can never express how I feel to those who founded the Hub and to those who kept it alive for me to discover.

Just over a year ago I was not a Shaper, did not know the community existed and when I first discovered the Georgetown Hub I thought that they were a bunch of intellectual elites from a very privileged socio-economic background who could never begin to understand the world I live in.

Today, nothing gives me more satisfaction than to say that I was wrong. I am sad though that this elitist perception of us still largely exists.

Yes, there are some of us who come from that privileged socio-economic background but that does not define or determine the way we see the world or our need to help shape it into a better place. Being rich is not a crime and it is also not a requirement for becoming a Global Shaper.

There are also those of us, like me, who come from families and communities that lead a more humble existence and this did not prevent us from being selected as a member of the Georgetown Hub. Lack of wealth is not a crime and it is also not a characteristic that will affect anyone’s chance of becoming a Global Shaper.

Global Shapers are young men and women who come from all socio-economic, religious, cultural, racial and ethnic backgrounds. We are young professionals, students scraping to make ends meet, parents who experience all the joy and challenges of raising a child and entrepreneurs who really, really wish there were more than 24-hours in a single day.

Regardless of who we are or where we come from, we share a common and passionate desire to give what we can to make our communities better places for everyone and we work long, hard hours all the time and in everything.

Our community isn’t about money, looks or connections. It’s about love, desire and passion; our love for humanity, our desire to change the world and our passion – which often becomes the only force between success and failure – to make those changes a reality.

Being a Global Shaper is about what you’ve done to improve the life of those around you and even more about what you’re prepared to do to continue that mission.

Disclaimer: The opinions and beliefs expressed in this article belong to the blogger and are not representative of any official views of the Global Shaper Community or the Georgetown Hub.