as a kid I all saw myself as an activist
I love to picture myself rallying crowds
with a bullhorn or screaming into a
camera that we demand change one time in
elementary school even took it upon
myself to lead a mini activist movement
it was recess we were all outside and
one kid threw a snowball when he wasn’t
supposed to throw a snowball my teacher
had the audacity to say that we all had
to go inside and recess was canceled
infuriated by this gross mockery of
justice I grabbed my best friend Julia
and we formed a chain link of about ten
little third graders blocking the door
to go inside I’m pretty sure we also
saying we shall not be moved just to
really get our point across
eventually the teachers broke through
and we all had to go back inside but
they never tried to take away a recess
again so I guess you could say it was a
success
my parents dubbed it occupy playground
that’s me up there in the pink dress as
I got older however I began to lose that
motivation it’s not at all that I cared
less about the problems in my community
or on a bigger scale my country it’s
just that I developed a mindset that it
wasn’t my place to speak out that’s
someone else’s job because I hadn’t been
personally affected by the problems
becoming prevalent in my country I felt
I had no authority or no right to take a
stand now as a junior in high school I
find myself taking and taking the
initiative to be the leader more and
more I finally come to the realization
that just because I’m not personally
affected by a problem doesn’t mean I
should sit this one out so to speak by
talking to my friends and actually
working to make our crazy ideas a
reality I found myself in leadership
positions more and more as the year has
gone on specifically I’ve gotten
involved in the never again movement
pushing for stronger gun control
measures and the planning of the March
for our lives and student-led nationwide
walkout on March 14th after the shooting
occurred in parkland Florida I was
infuriated like most of my peers but
what truly shocked me was how
unsurprised I was it had become pretty
much a weekly occurrence for us to be
talking yet again
about a mass shooting innocent children
being killed in our own school I wanted
to join with the uprising of students
fighting to make a change and fight with
them to make sure the lives lost didn’t
just become another news cycle to be
eclipsed by the next day’s headlines so
I talked to one of my best friends
Lucy Jackson who also happens to be our
student body president and formed a
small group of other students who were
equally dedicated to fighting to make
change we began to talk about organizing
a school walkout through the many hours
of planning and rating speeches an issue
that came up pretty often was how big
our attendance would be we all knew tons
of people who cared about the problem
but whether they would actually get up
and show that support through action was
questionable we live in a time when you
can sign a petition with one click on
change.org or post a picture on
Instagram with the hashtag never again
and sit back feeling accomplished but we
no longer have the privilege of passive
resistance if you care at all about a
cause whatever it may be you need to
turn that passion into direct action the
issue of gun control is unique and that
it affects every single person living in
the United States regardless of age race
gender class or creed although certain
groups may be more at risk of gun
violence we were all in the running to
be the next victim of a mass shooting
I’m not an expert on this subject I
didn’t go to school and get a degree in
the politics of gun regulation nor have
I ever been personally affected by gun
violence but I’m passionate about this
cause and I’m tired of waiting for other
people to make the change that I want to
see I’m passionate about preventing the
hundreds of completely unnecessary
deaths that occur each year because
someone was able to get a gun when they
shouldn’t have and I’m sure most of you
are too the only way movements like this
can be successful is if people like you
and me answer the rallying cry of
leaders like Emma Gonzales and David
Hogg I represent a Nayak High School at
the March for lives in New City New York
on March 24th along with a friend of
mine Julia Trahan I went to meetings
discussing permits and guest speakers
and eventually I got up in front of a
crowd of about 3,000 people and made a
speech
the reason why I was able to get
involved was because I was one of the
leaders of my own schools walk out my
dad mr. Carroll as you probably know him
posted a video of my speech on Facebook
which subsequently got me an invite to
come speak here at your TEDx event
because I took the simple step of
talking to my friends to plan a walk out
I was given the ear of my local
politicians I was able to meet with my
congresswoman Nita Lowey
and I’m part of a group of students who
were just invited to attend a New York
State Senate meeting in Albany my point
is is that even the smallest action can
have a big change in the past it’s been
easy to sit back and watch as others
carry the torch of progress but we no
longer have that privilege and it’s our
job every single one of us here to
continue the fight a friend of mine
Logan Mehta started an organization
called youth against gun violence which
has been steadily growing in membership
from students in schools all over the
state local activist leaders I know have
started their own organizations to send
letters and make phone calls to our
local representatives urging them to
pass legislation that could prevent
further mass shootings if you care at
all about a cause whatever it may be
whether its climate change or women’s
rights or even protecting the Second
Amendment it’s your job to stand up and
carry on the fight don’t sit by and
watch as the world around you changes
our our generation can and will be the
ones to truly change the world for the better thank you
I love to picture myself rallying crowds
with a bullhorn or screaming into a
camera that we demand change one time in
elementary school even took it upon
myself to lead a mini activist movement
it was recess we were all outside and
one kid threw a snowball when he wasn’t
supposed to throw a snowball my teacher
had the audacity to say that we all had
to go inside and recess was canceled
infuriated by this gross mockery of
justice I grabbed my best friend Julia
and we formed a chain link of about ten
little third graders blocking the door
to go inside I’m pretty sure we also
saying we shall not be moved just to
really get our point across
eventually the teachers broke through
and we all had to go back inside but
they never tried to take away a recess
again so I guess you could say it was a
success
my parents dubbed it occupy playground
that’s me up there in the pink dress as
I got older however I began to lose that
motivation it’s not at all that I cared
less about the problems in my community
or on a bigger scale my country it’s
just that I developed a mindset that it
wasn’t my place to speak out that’s
someone else’s job because I hadn’t been
personally affected by the problems
becoming prevalent in my country I felt
I had no authority or no right to take a
stand now as a junior in high school I
find myself taking and taking the
initiative to be the leader more and
more I finally come to the realization
that just because I’m not personally
affected by a problem doesn’t mean I
should sit this one out so to speak by
talking to my friends and actually
working to make our crazy ideas a
reality I found myself in leadership
positions more and more as the year has
gone on specifically I’ve gotten
involved in the never again movement
pushing for stronger gun control
measures and the planning of the March
for our lives and student-led nationwide
walkout on March 14th after the shooting
occurred in parkland Florida I was
infuriated like most of my peers but
what truly shocked me was how
unsurprised I was it had become pretty
much a weekly occurrence for us to be
talking yet again
about a mass shooting innocent children
being killed in our own school I wanted
to join with the uprising of students
fighting to make a change and fight with
them to make sure the lives lost didn’t
just become another news cycle to be
eclipsed by the next day’s headlines so
I talked to one of my best friends
Lucy Jackson who also happens to be our
student body president and formed a
small group of other students who were
equally dedicated to fighting to make
change we began to talk about organizing
a school walkout through the many hours
of planning and rating speeches an issue
that came up pretty often was how big
our attendance would be we all knew tons
of people who cared about the problem
but whether they would actually get up
and show that support through action was
questionable we live in a time when you
can sign a petition with one click on
change.org or post a picture on
Instagram with the hashtag never again
and sit back feeling accomplished but we
no longer have the privilege of passive
resistance if you care at all about a
cause whatever it may be you need to
turn that passion into direct action the
issue of gun control is unique and that
it affects every single person living in
the United States regardless of age race
gender class or creed although certain
groups may be more at risk of gun
violence we were all in the running to
be the next victim of a mass shooting
I’m not an expert on this subject I
didn’t go to school and get a degree in
the politics of gun regulation nor have
I ever been personally affected by gun
violence but I’m passionate about this
cause and I’m tired of waiting for other
people to make the change that I want to
see I’m passionate about preventing the
hundreds of completely unnecessary
deaths that occur each year because
someone was able to get a gun when they
shouldn’t have and I’m sure most of you
are too the only way movements like this
can be successful is if people like you
and me answer the rallying cry of
leaders like Emma Gonzales and David
Hogg I represent a Nayak High School at
the March for lives in New City New York
on March 24th along with a friend of
mine Julia Trahan I went to meetings
discussing permits and guest speakers
and eventually I got up in front of a
crowd of about 3,000 people and made a
speech
the reason why I was able to get
involved was because I was one of the
leaders of my own schools walk out my
dad mr. Carroll as you probably know him
posted a video of my speech on Facebook
which subsequently got me an invite to
come speak here at your TEDx event
because I took the simple step of
talking to my friends to plan a walk out
I was given the ear of my local
politicians I was able to meet with my
congresswoman Nita Lowey
and I’m part of a group of students who
were just invited to attend a New York
State Senate meeting in Albany my point
is is that even the smallest action can
have a big change in the past it’s been
easy to sit back and watch as others
carry the torch of progress but we no
longer have that privilege and it’s our
job every single one of us here to
continue the fight a friend of mine
Logan Mehta started an organization
called youth against gun violence which
has been steadily growing in membership
from students in schools all over the
state local activist leaders I know have
started their own organizations to send
letters and make phone calls to our
local representatives urging them to
pass legislation that could prevent
further mass shootings if you care at
all about a cause whatever it may be
whether its climate change or women’s
rights or even protecting the Second
Amendment it’s your job to stand up and
carry on the fight don’t sit by and
watch as the world around you changes
our our generation can and will be the
ones to truly change the world for the better thank you
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