If you're anything like me, you may be a little lost- a little too curious about everything to be decisive about anything. "Hmm…let me think," prefaces almost every decision. Sound familiar? But if we're alike, one thing that you are definitely sure of is that you want to change the world. You may not be sure exactly how yet, neither am I, but I know we'll figure it out.

Now, I don't know how much you've looked into it, but saving the world these days doesn't look so easy. You may think there's so much wrong happening everywhere, but here's the secret, that means there is plenty of opportunities to help. When effecting change doesn't seem like such a piece of cake, know that deciding to contribute is like picking up the fork.

Step one: care- turning that apathy into activism. If you've ever cracked a history book, you've seen that all the good change that has ever taken place in the world began with someone giving a damn. Heart comes first. But if the Princess and the Frog taught us anything, it's that wishing is useless without a little (or a lot) of elbow grease to get something cookin'. Which brings me to step two: go to work, honey.

For many of us, this is where things get tricky. You may think to yourself, "There is so much to do, where and how do I even start?" Or, "How can I, just one person, really make any difference?" I'll tell you how. It's by recognizing a need and committing yourself to help, in any way that you are able- even if it is small. This means joining in with others doing the same, or by being the first. Allow me to present you with a few examples of people today doing just that.

Greta Thunburg is a climate and environmental activist with Asperger's, who at age 15, began a school strike and protest outside the Swedish parliament in August 2018, illuminating the need for immediate action to combat climate change. It didn't take long before news outlets all around the world had her name written in their teleprompter scripts and stamped across their paper's headlines. Greta made the crisis of our heating globe a global hot topic of conversation. She opened the eyes of millions to this crisis, and she continues to keep them fixed on this problem until it is solved. All of this began from one girl deciding to take a stand, or rather a sit, outside of the doors of parliament with a sign and conviction in saving the world.

Gavin Grimm is a transgender teenager, who at age 15, made national news when he sued his Virginia school district after he was banned from using the boy's restroom at his high school. Gavin became the face of transgender rights in this country and the fight for equality for the transgender community when he decided to flush discrimination down the toilet.

Malala Yousafzai is the youngest Nobel Prize laureate in history, receiving the award at age 21. Living in Pakistan, under Taliban occupation, 11-year-old Malala wrote a blog post under a pseudonym for the BBC about her life under Taliban rule. Beginning at this young age, she expressed her desires to found a national party and a foundation to promote education and to help poor girls go to school. Malala's outspoken encouragement of female education went against the Taliban, and in October 2012, she was shot by a gunman on a school bus, igniting an international movement to support her. She has since founded the Malala Fund, helping girls go to school and fighting for the right of all children to education.

Amazing, right? These were all ordinary people who recognized a need and answered, inciting extraordinary change. To be an activist, simply act. Do something. This doesn't mean you have to begin organizing marches and rallies singlehandedly, this just means getting involved in any way you are able. And vote for Pete's sake. An activist is anyone who fights for what they believe is right, from protests and strikes to simply generating conversation. So, speak out! And when you speak, speak up. But never, ever forget to listen. The problems of the world will never be solved if all we do is shout over one another.

Here is your call to action: educate yourself on what's happening in the world around you and find any way to help. Look, I know the news is sad. If you need a break sometimes, that's okay, give yourself one. Look into the millions of happy things happening all around you that don't always make it in the headlines of the news at nine. (I recommend Tank's Good News, @tanksgoodnews on Insta.) But don't turn a blind eye to the suffering in our world. As humans, we are bound to the responsibility to our world to have each other's backs. We don't do anyone any good by basking in bliss produced by ignorance.

And finally, step three: don't be pessimistic! Dream of the world you wish to live in and dream big. Progress is pidgin-holed when we set benchmarks to reach and lose sight of the idea that things could be better. Aim high. To quote Angela Oguntala, a futurist and director at Greyspace design consultancy, "When it comes to our futures, we have hope, we have fear, but sometimes we forget that we also have influence. And that means we can choose the futures we want to work towards, nothing is written in stone. So, reconsider your vision of the future. Take a chance and be surprised."

You must contribute because only you can do what you can do for the world. You must contribute because you are here to love this world to healing- to leave it better than you found it. You must contribute to inspire someone down the line to do the same. You must contribute because when we work together, we are unstoppable. Every one of us has a mission, a place in this world that needs our help and that we can help the best. That's your super power! We are the heroes of today. Our future is the product of the present. So, realize your ability to effect change, understand your influence, stay woke, and go save the world. Let's get it

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