by Nala Bailey
Education is the door to many possibilities; it is more than just knowledge you gain in a classroom. Education is the doorway to finding your passion and pursuing it, training yourself for life as an adult, exposing yourself to different cultures, and finding a way to improve the world we inhabit. Individuals who are educated will be the future world changers. Since young minds are the future of this world, we shouldn't just look at education as a way to get a job, however look at education as a way to understand more about the world around us, and enlighten others.
As a young person I have started to expose myself to a wider educational experience, by learning from a more diverse group of individuals. One of the most powerful things we can do is push ourselves out of our comfort zone. We gain so much knowledge and as a result our minds become a more powerful tool for change. So many children are being denied the opportunity to education because of gender, religion, disabilities, and environment. How is this acceptable? How are we making allowances for the denial of knowledge? With over 120 million children around the world who are still illiterate, how do we expect to progress and grow as a global community if we are not educating the next generation? Children are the future, there is no doubt in that. Young minds will be the next Presidents, Ambassadors, Queens, Kings, Prime Ministers, medical professionals, and leaders. Education will be crucial to inspiring the imagination and dreams of these future leaders.
I would like to urge young people to take what we know and use what we've learned to give hope to the world by establishing a legacy of learning for the future. At no time stop wondering, cease thinking, nor choose complacency; that is when we become stagnant. We will inherit this world; therefore we must determine to fight for the children who aren't being exposed to a world of many possibilities; to a world of educated minds, and gender nor geography should determine who is left behind.
You may ask how can we do this? How can we possibly assume we have the capacity to educate our entire world? This task seems nearly impossible. I assure you we cannot take on this enormous task by taking on this enormous task. Every world changing event started small. Begin in your community, start encouraging the people surrounding you to look at education as a way of life not as a way of getting by. Start talking to groups about topics that promote a richer and deeper understanding of subjects that promote world enrichment. Subjects like history, engineering, mathematics, philosophy, language, and sciences. These are all subjects that are at the core of cultural diffusion. We must discontinue the habit of excluding people because they are different. Change the little world around you and you will change the world. Meet people that think differently than you, widen your horizon and you will widen other's horizons, by changing your little society; and you will ultimately change society. Let's not deny ourselves or others the possibility of a world of wonder through education.
Nala Bailey, 17, is a junior high school student in Towson, Maryland. She uses her passions for music and writing to encourage peers.
This post is a part of a series produced by The Huffington Post in partnership with Friendship Ambassadors Foundation following the 2016 Youth Assembly at the United Nations held on February 17-18, 2016. The winter session tackled the role of youth in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. To see all posts in the series, click here.