If you are a teen, then you must have heard people saying that the new generation of youth is lazy, unproductive, dreamy, without ambition, absorbed in new technological gadgets and surrounded by screens all day.  This has been further supported by jokes on facebook, memes, and many advertisements that reflect this idea. But is that true?

We may spend a lot of time on social media but we are not just a blue ticked Whatsapp message, nor a facebook notification. We have within us, enough strength to change the world.  Malala and Yusra did it so why do we allow society to make us feel worthless?

Robert Kennedy rightly said

“This world demands the qualities of youth: not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease."

Youth are like bright rays, capable of spreading light, and solving small problems to big ones like inequality or climate change. They light up the future and they just need one chance to be included in the conversation.

If I had to describe Youth in a single word, that would be power because:

The (You)th is powerful enough to raise their voices on sensitive issues and to write about stigmatized concepts like menstruation. The (You)th is brave, enough to defy the status-quo of the society, to challenge mentality that need to be revamped and come up with fresh ideas that may alleviate pressing issues in the society. The (You)th is smart enough to make effective use of the social media as a tool to empower people and to raise awareness. The youth has a lot to teach us, because they see things in their own way, and view the world through filters, we did not think of.

This post is also dedicated to all young activists who are stepping up for several issues and who are changing the world everyday.  And also, a huge shoutout to all those who are making the world a better place with their random acts of kindness everyday, and to all our superheroes who do not get enough media exposure for their work.

Let us know using the hashtag #StepUpMagazine who your favorite youth activists are who deserve a shout out for their awesome work. And if you still don’t believe in youth, do check out the magazine to learn more about inspiring young people who are getting out of their comfort zone and stepping up for causes they believe in.