I moved from Venezuela with my family about three months ago.
And in my first day in Wiregrass,
my history teacher asked us, a really simple question.
"How many of you have ever sent a letter, or an email,
or even called your local representative or senator?"
For a second, everyone stayed silent.
Then someone stood up and said, "I had never done that,
because it won't make a difference; they won't hear that."
I was really shocked when I heard that answer,
but everyone seems to agree with it,
like it was a perfectly rational explanation.
I wanted to think that it wasn't a common feeling
among American teens and American youths,
but the thing is that it is a fact that most American teens
do not understand the power their voice and their opinions can have.
In the 2014 mid-term elections,
only 22% of 18 to 29 years old, voted.
Only 22%; 21.5%, if you want to be exact.
In my country, we will never lose an election.
You will see 80% , 90% turnout.
People wake up, go to vote, then go home.
I think that's the rational thing to do.
Furthermore, when you look at political interest among millennials,
which are people from 18 to 29 years old,
right now in 2016,
you see that only 26% consider politics and government
one of their top three interests.
What does this tell me?
Most American teens do not worry about what happens in their country.
And just by extension, I see that most Americans do not realise the power
their actions and opinions can have.
You may say, "Who are you to criticize me?
Why are you saying this to me?"
Let me start by saying that in many countries around the world,
you risk your life just by standing up for your beliefs.
You don't have the power to say, "Hey, I don't agree with this,"
or "I don't like this.".
This is something really close to my heart
because in 2014, I was part of the protest
that took place in Venezuela.
We went out and we protested against the dictatorial government
that has kept scarcity, crime, and inflation
at the highest rates in the history of our country.
We fought, with banners like this one.
We just wanted to make voices heard, to actually say what we believed in.
And we faced off against police, against the military,
just to stand up for our beliefs.
And this was the government's response;
more than 42 people dead; 20 of them were less than 18 years old.
More than 5,000 injured, 3,000 were jailed,
and more than three million blacklisted, including me and my family.
This is the reason why I left my country, I left everything behind.
We left our family, our friends, and we came here,
and we're living under these conditions.
We agreed to do this, and we accept this,
because here, we have something that we've never had in our lives.
We have freedom.
The freedom to stand up for what we believe in,
and to actually demand our rights.
Our family here has turned their back on us,
we have trouble getting the money to pay bills,
but we will fight to stay here because we want to be free.
This is just my opinion on why I have
the responsibility to tell you
that you can make a change in your country, in your community.
During the 1960s civil rights movement, the words of a man
helped shape the identity of a nation.
"I have a dream" became a mantra for everyone around the world
who wanted to change his reality for the better.
Small actions like a woman who refused to give up her seat on the bus,
helped form a movement
that changed the identity, the whole identity, the whole society
in America for the better.
So please don't say that your actions are too little too late.
Everything that you can do to change society,
to change the world, will matter.
Never, never give up.
And always think positively.
You can go as far as your dreams take you.
And remember that every revolution, all around the world,
starts with a single person.
And I believe that everyone in this room has the power to be that person.
Thank you very much.