Be The Change: What I Can Do To Make A Difference

"Be the change you wish to see" is the phrase first spoken by Mahatma Gandhi. But who is Mahatma Gandhi? "Mahatma" is a compound word consisting of "Mahan" and "Atma" meaning "A great soul". Today, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is aptly referred to as "Mahatma Gandhi" because of the changes he brought to the world. He led a civil disobedience movement against British rule in India and ended apartheid by treating the untouchables as equals. Gandhi's work inspired generations of leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Barack Obama. His beliefs of non-violence and being the change have inspired me as well.

I was born on August 17, 2001. Less than a month later, we saw the biggest terrorist attack in history on American soil. Not a single day passes when we do not hear or experience bullying, terrorism or wars. These actions broadly fall into the category of intimidation. This can range from peer pressure at school to cruel dictators around the world. What I want to see is world peace and a safer community.

I see peer pressure every day at middle school. Teasing, name-calling, and swearing are the first things we hear as soon as we walk into the school. As noted by famous author, Dr. Michele Borba, in her recent book, Building Moral Intelligence, that a repeat or chronic bully by age 8 has a 25% chance of having a criminal record by age 26, it is important to bring a change at every level.

Roughly a month ago, the Taliban, a terrorist group in northwestern Pakistan, shot a young teenage girl in the head. This girl, Malala Yousfazi, was only standing up for women's education. She was being the change she wanted to see. The Taliban attack on Malala was a form of religious and social intolerance.

Dictatorship is an extreme case of bullying. Dictators ruthlessly rule countries without caring for citizen's opinions. We are in the midst of Arab Spring Revolution where people of Syria, Libya, and Egypt are uprising against dictatorship and being the change they want to see.

I am a three year veteran of Project Cornerstone, a leadership program creating a positive atmosphere for all students. Leveraging my Cornerstone lessons, I have confronted bullies at school and made them own up to their mistakes, and resolved conflicts between students as a Yard Duty Helper. My idea of the "Bully Box," an anonymous complaint box, was appreciated by Cornerstone Mentors and is planned to get implemented soon. I am being the catalyst of change, so that every child feels safe and is focused on learning when he or she arrives at school.

I am an active Girl Scout for many years now, where we learn to be confident and stand up for ourselves. Recently, my Girl Scout Troop celebrated the Indian festival of Holi. This cross-pollination of different and unique cultures ignites gratitude, compassion and acceptance towards them. Just like Malala, I am being the agent of change for girl empowerment and social acceptance.

I am deeply involved in a Model United Nations League and regularly attend seminars and conferences. We learn about foreign policies, politics, history and ethics. We seek solutions for international conflicts through the use of logic, peace, dialogue, debate and negotiation. I plan to use these methods to bring a change for a better tomorrow.

In his last pre-election Iowa rally, President Obama said,

"One voice can change a room.
And if it can change a room, it can change a city.
And if it can change a city, it can change a state.
And if it can change a state, it can change a nation.
And if it can change a nation, it can change a world."

Here I am; voicing my concerns and sharing concrete actions I am taking to promote peace at every level; from classroom to the entire world.

Think of a solution, you are a thinker.
Be a solution, and you are the Leader of Change.
- Amisha Wadhwa

Dear Mr. President

Dear Mr. President,

Have you ever felt in your life that nothing was going your way and the world seemed totally hopeless? I am Amisha, and I felt this way during Fall 2010. Let me rewind. Way back in 2nd grade, my Dad used to talk about your campaign ideas of “Hope”, “Change”, and “Yes, We Can”. These words meant nothing to me at that time and felt like a jumble of letters. In 3rd grade, I took the Neglieri test for GATE and did not get selected. The exam was generally about spatial ability, my Achilles heel. I felt really down. Then, from the back of my mind, your words jumped out and inspired me.

Your message, “You can’t let your failures define you-you have to let them teach you,” rekindled flame to succeed and prove myself. Changing my tactics to work on weak areas of geometry, I continued to draw strength from my strong concepts of algebra and word analyzation. With full determination, knowledge, and confidence, I appeared for John Hopkins and Stanford Talent Search programs and aced them both. I felt very proud of myself for putting Baker Elementary at the same level of Harker and Challenger. One thing I learned from your speech and my personal experience is to never lose hope. I wish that other Moreland kids and children world-wide will keep on following your inspiration. They should not get disheartened when one door closes, but try to open new ones.

Mr. Obama, I can relate to how you must be feeling right now. Despite of all your accomplishments such as ending 2 wars, killing major terrorists, and mending relations with our Trans – Atlantic partners, your approval rating continues to decline. This is the time for you to Walk the Talk. You should not lose hope. You can take concrete actions to change the way Washington works. You should find common ground between Democratic ideas with Republican features to create programs that will boost US economy. You can work with W.H.O. to make “Let’s Move” a global program. You can continue to encourage Arab Spring revolutions. You can follow the footsteps of your ideals, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King Jr. to end apartheid. Yes, You can.

An Inspired Soul,

Amisha Wadhwa

Education for Everyone

Think of your favorite hobby - it could be singing, painting, playing sports, playing an instrument; anything. Now imagine that is being taken away from you. And you aren't going to be getting it back anytime soon. You can't sit there and do nothing about it. Malala felt that pain when she was being robbed of education, the thing she valued the most.

My first blog is about arguably the most famous teenager of recent times, Malala Yousafzai. Being a blog writer herself, she had a near-death experience and is nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. In just a mere span of four years, Malala has entitled herself with a great name.

With the new school year starting, I think of other girls like Malala. Those who are like me but struggle to receive education, something I take for granted. We are just separated by some circumstances and less than a day's flight, but there are so many differences!

Malala Yousafzai is a 16 year old Pakistani student, Education Rights activist, and Women's Rights activist from Swat Valley. She loves to learn about anything and everything. That is the main reason why she took action against Taliban. They took control of Swat Valley and were banning many girls’ schools, including hers.

In early 2009, Malala wrote a blog for BBC News Channel. She was specifically sharing about how life was under Taliban rule and her views on promoting education for girls. Malala began to gain popularity, so the New York Times newspaper filmed a documentary on her. She appeared on TV, went for interviews, so people were beginning to think that she could really make a difference. She took a position as chairperson of the District Child Assembly Swat. Wow, I think "what courage! She was extremely brave to pull off something like that and even right under Taliban's nose.”

Things were going great for Malala and her word was being spread. However, Taliban couldn't stand that a teenage girl was in their way of establishing their extreme views. They decided to give her a harsh punishment and set out to kill her. In October of 2012, Malala was shot in the head in an assassination attempt by a Taliban gunman.

As destiny had it, Malala has not only survived, but is on her path to full recovery to take her movement forward. Now, she is the winner of 2013 International Children's Peace Prize and the youngest nominee in history for the Nobel Peace Prize. As the winner of Pakistan’s first National Youth Peace Prize, she really has power to change something in her homeland and worldwide.

In the April 2013 issue of Time Magazine, Malala was featured on the front cover as one of "The 100 Most Influential People in the World" She was invited to the July session of United Nations and was greeted by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

"By targeting Malala, extremists showed what they feared the most: a girl with a book," Mr. Ki-moon said.“Malala is calling on us to keep our promises - invest in young people and put education first.”

At the U.N. Youth Assembly, Malala urged world leaders to provide free, compulsory education for every child.

“Let us pick up our books and our pens,” Malala told young leaders. "They are our most powerful weapons.“

Rattled by the outpouring support Malala has been getting over the world, a Taliban commander has written a letter that stops short of an outright apology and justifies their actions and asking her to return to Pakistan.

"You have said in your speech yesterday that pen is mightier than sword," Rasheed wrote in reference to Malala's speech at the U.N., "so they attacked you for your sword not for your books or school.“

Still, Malala’s clear message is that she wants every child to have access to education, and wants young girls to be empowered. She is the beacon of hope for many girls worldwide. Her story has inspired me to do something for the same cause. I, as an active Girl Scout, strive to make a difference, like Malala has. Through Girl Scouts, the fellow members of my troop and I plan to donate 100+ books to the Sharks Foundation's book drive, "Reading Is Cool"

I'm sure there that there are many inspired souls that have now taken initiative to support Malala's vision.

One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world. Education is the only solution. -Malala Yousafzai