In September of 2019 Greta Thunberg went in front of the United Nations at their Climate Action Summit. Greta is a sixteen-year-old girl from Sweden and she did something many of us could never imagine doing. She was brave enough to speak her opinion in front of many adults who didn’t share it.

Greta addressed governments leaders and proclaimed, “This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be up here… Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you!” Her speech was a last-ditch effort to get these powerful men and women to understand the importance of climate change.

Whether you agree with Greta’s speech or not, it is important to take away the biggest lesson she has presented to the youth of the world: you can always make your voice heard. 

It is easy to be scared about voicing your opinions and it is easy to let that fear take over, but nothing will change if you don’t try. Greta Thunberg is younger than half our student population and has conquered so much more than most of us have ever imagined someone in high school could.

Most of us work hard to study and get a good ACT score, but there are so many world issues we could be spreading awareness about, such as the fact Georgia has one some of the highest reports of sex trafficking. 

The point is, there is no law in the United States saying you must be a certain age to voice your opinions. We are given the freedom of speech, and it’s time the youth of America start taking advantage of that right.

That being said, it is equally, if not more, important to be educated in what you are passionate about. Someone who sounds like an uninformed idiot won’t help anything and might actually hurt their cause.

While many fear change, it is important to embrace all the good change can bring with trustworthy and smart individuals in charge. As citizens of our country, we hold power. Your voice and your opinion are two things no one can take away from you. They matter, and it is important they be used to spread awareness and help others.

The world is changing, let’s change it for the better!