A New(er) Activist on the Power of Advocacy and the International Conference
by Jill Gardiner, age 17
As teenagers, there are a lot of things we can’t control. We can’t vote, school restricts our freedoms, socially things are . . . well, drama is turbulent by definition.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t have an impact on the world.
Too much of our time is spent running around when we could be making a difference. All it takes is a little initiative towards a cause and things happen. I used to think I couldn’t do anything except homework and sports, but after a slight push from my mother, I realized exactly the potential and influence a teenager can have.
In the course of one day last summer, while at the RESULTS International Conference, I met with three congressional representatives and discussed ways they could impact pressing issues in the world.
It’s not the easiest thing to look a politician in the eye and ask them for their support, but the second you walk out of that office, you know without a doubt that you’ve done something right.