Dream Bigger and Make a Difference

Briana Randall

Staff Writer

One thing that had always bothered me was my lack of knowledge of what was going on in the world around me. I can tell you anything about what’s going on in pop culture, or even better what the Kardashians are up to.

Meanwhile, if you had asked me who Malala Yousafzai is, or what exactly she does about week ago, you might’ve gotten a blank stare.

So who is she? Well, Yousafzai is an 18-year-old Nobel Prize laureate. She strives to help make a difference for Pakistani women whose learning opportunities have been stripped. A true activist, that many don’t know of.

Yousafzai first was brought to the public’s attention following a terrifying event, after she was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman and survived.

Since then the media has covered her recovery and the difference she’s continued to make throughout the world for other women.

It’s okay to not to know this, because we’re supposed to learn something new everyday. However, that’s not why I wanted to write this.

I wanted to know why it is that we don’t know about this girl. Why isn’t she on the news, why isn’t she on the cover of our magazines, and why don’t you or I keep up with her successes?

We seem to idolize young girls like Kylie Jenner daily. We download apps that allow us into their lives. Watching their Snapchats before we watch the news even. Celebrities like Jenner have all this money and can do just about anything, and we call that #goals.

Well I’ve decided it’s time for bigger goals. Yousafzai is a young girl like myself and many others, yet she is making a difference for women in her country. I only hope I can follow in her footsteps one day.

It’s time for a turn around, not just in the mindset of younger generations but also in what we are taught. It’s time we learn about the real, everyday people making a difference, learn from them, and get inspired.

So find your Yousafzai and stride to dream bigger and make a difference!