WEBVTT 00:00:09.365 --> 00:00:13.164 I moved from Venezuela with my family about three months ago. 00:00:13.584 --> 00:00:16.636 And in my first day in Wiregrass, 00:00:17.968 --> 00:00:21.203 my history teacher asked us, a really simple question. 00:00:21.759 --> 00:00:25.371 "How many of you have ever sent a letter, or an email, 00:00:25.371 --> 00:00:28.651 or even called your local representative or senator?" 00:00:29.441 --> 00:00:32.281 For a second, everyone stayed silent. 00:00:32.281 --> 00:00:35.580 Then someone stood up and said, "I had never done that, 00:00:35.580 --> 00:00:38.410 because it won't make a difference; they won't hear that." 00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:40.821 I was really shocked when I heard that answer, 00:00:40.821 --> 00:00:42.851 but everyone seems to agree with it, 00:00:43.331 --> 00:00:46.113 like it was a perfectly rational explanation. 00:00:47.819 --> 00:00:50.303 I wanted to think that it wasn't a common feeling 00:00:50.303 --> 00:00:53.115 among American teens and American youths, 00:00:53.115 --> 00:00:57.894 but the thing is that it is a fact that most American teens 00:00:59.211 --> 00:01:03.064 do not understand the power their voice and their opinions can have. 00:01:04.613 --> 00:01:08.383 In the 2014 mid-term elections, 00:01:09.483 --> 00:01:14.103 only 22% of 18 to 29 years old, voted. 00:01:14.475 --> 00:01:18.505 Only 22%; 21.5%, if you want to be exact. 00:01:20.075 --> 00:01:22.221 In my country, we will never lose an election. 00:01:22.221 --> 00:01:25.080 You will see 80% , 90% turnout. 00:01:25.080 --> 00:01:27.800 People wake up, go to vote, then go home. 00:01:27.800 --> 00:01:31.020 I think that's the rational thing to do. 00:01:31.020 --> 00:01:35.263 Furthermore, when you look at political interest among millennials, 00:01:35.263 --> 00:01:38.602 which are people from 18 to 29 years old, 00:01:38.712 --> 00:01:40.272 right now in 2016, 00:01:40.542 --> 00:01:44.298 you see that only 26% consider politics and government 00:01:44.298 --> 00:01:46.401 one of their top three interests. 00:01:46.571 --> 00:01:48.343 What does this tell me? 00:01:48.343 --> 00:01:52.919 Most American teens do not worry about what happens in their country. 00:01:52.946 --> 00:01:57.405 And just by extension, I see that most Americans do not realise the power 00:01:57.405 --> 00:01:59.337 their actions and opinions can have. 00:01:59.481 --> 00:02:03.331 You may say, "Who are you to criticize me? 00:02:03.331 --> 00:02:05.181 Why are you saying this to me?" 00:02:05.355 --> 00:02:09.410 Let me start by saying that in many countries around the world, 00:02:10.435 --> 00:02:13.832 you risk your life just by standing up for your beliefs. 00:02:14.247 --> 00:02:17.501 You don't have the power to say, "Hey, I don't agree with this," 00:02:17.597 --> 00:02:18.942 or "I don't like this.". 00:02:19.522 --> 00:02:21.722 This is something really close to my heart 00:02:21.722 --> 00:02:25.994 because in 2014, I was part of the protest 00:02:26.274 --> 00:02:28.421 that took place in Venezuela. 00:02:28.951 --> 00:02:32.121 We went out and we protested against the dictatorial government 00:02:33.071 --> 00:02:38.194 that has kept scarcity, crime, and inflation 00:02:38.624 --> 00:02:41.084 at the highest rates in the history of our country. 00:02:41.142 --> 00:02:44.489 We fought, with banners like this one. 00:02:45.161 --> 00:02:49.575 We just wanted to make voices heard, to actually say what we believed in. 00:02:50.672 --> 00:02:54.255 And we faced off against police, against the military, 00:02:55.085 --> 00:02:57.275 just to stand up for our beliefs. 00:02:57.275 --> 00:03:00.365 And this was the government's response; 00:03:01.725 --> 00:03:07.056 more than 42 people dead; 20 of them were less than 18 years old. 00:03:07.385 --> 00:03:11.962 More than 5,000 injured, 3,000 were jailed, 00:03:11.962 --> 00:03:15.581 and more than three million blacklisted, including me and my family. 00:03:15.990 --> 00:03:20.329 This is the reason why I left my country, I left everything behind. 00:03:20.839 --> 00:03:24.387 We left our family, our friends, and we came here, 00:03:24.387 --> 00:03:26.694 and we're living under these conditions. 00:03:28.434 --> 00:03:31.724 We agreed to do this, and we accept this, 00:03:31.974 --> 00:03:35.085 because here, we have something that we've never had in our lives. 00:03:35.725 --> 00:03:37.090 We have freedom. 00:03:37.473 --> 00:03:39.955 The freedom to stand up for what we believe in, 00:03:40.345 --> 00:03:43.292 and to actually demand our rights. 00:03:43.852 --> 00:03:47.304 Our family here has turned their back on us, 00:03:48.064 --> 00:03:51.379 we have trouble getting the money to pay bills, 00:03:51.379 --> 00:03:55.703 but we will fight to stay here because we want to be free. 00:03:57.996 --> 00:04:02.956 This is just my opinion on why I have 00:04:03.876 --> 00:04:05.466 the responsibility to tell you 00:04:05.466 --> 00:04:09.205 that you can make a change in your country, in your community. 00:04:12.073 --> 00:04:16.872 During the 1960s civil rights movement, the words of a man 00:04:17.115 --> 00:04:19.822 helped shape the identity of a nation. 00:04:20.302 --> 00:04:24.575 "I have a dream" became a mantra for everyone around the world 00:04:24.575 --> 00:04:28.675 who wanted to change his reality for the better. 00:04:28.675 --> 00:04:32.485 Small actions like a woman who refused to give up her seat on the bus, 00:04:34.285 --> 00:04:36.152 helped form a movement 00:04:36.152 --> 00:04:39.725 that changed the identity, the whole identity, the whole society 00:04:39.725 --> 00:04:41.816 in America for the better. 00:04:42.536 --> 00:04:46.216 So please don't say that your actions are too little too late. 00:04:46.516 --> 00:04:49.019 Everything that you can do to change society, 00:04:49.019 --> 00:04:51.648 to change the world, will matter. 00:04:53.012 --> 00:04:55.433 Never, never give up. 00:04:55.433 --> 00:04:57.903 And always think positively. 00:04:58.433 --> 00:05:01.235 You can go as far as your dreams take you. 00:05:02.490 --> 00:05:07.093 And remember that every revolution, all around the world, 00:05:07.093 --> 00:05:09.055 starts with a single person. 00:05:09.055 --> 00:05:12.692 And I believe that everyone in this room has the power to be that person. 00:05:12.692 --> 00:05:13.961 Thank you very much.