When older generations describe the millennials, my generation, as a group of lost kids who are too wrapped up in technology to care about anything, I take serious offense. There are many things to be critical of, however my generation is changing the world. Take for example, the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner ever, Malala Yousafzai. At just 17 years old, she is making incredible impacts of the lives of children everywhere, especially girls. As an advocate for educating girls, she is making some serious waves in the international community. She is pushing the traditional boundaries of women in her society and around the world. She is giving girls a chance to advocate for themselves and a chance to change their lives for the better. An education is a crucial element of getting out of poverty and reducing global inequality. It sounds a bit far fetched, that something like an education, that is taken for granted every day in the western world would be the foundation for poverty reduction, but it’s true. The United Nations, in their Millennium Development Goals, made achieving universal primary education a top priority for this very reason. An education can give people the tools they need to bring themselves out of poverty. This is especially true for women and girls around the world. Malala has been likened to the modern day “Rosie the Riveter” because she is empowering women across the globe to stand up to oppression and take their lives into their own hands. She is truly an inspiration and is an excellent choice for the Nobel Prize. So when you find yourself thinking that the millennials are ruining everything good in the world, think of Malala and others like her, because we’re here to make a difference.
