The girl writing this is not the same girl from three years ago. In high school if you had told me I would need a calendar to email me every morning about what I had to do that day I would have laughed and brushed it off. I was used to laying low. I went to school, did what I had to do and left. I tutored younger kids sometimes and was in a club that met once a month, but that was the extent of my involvement. When I went home, I did homework for hours and went to bed so I could get up the next day and do it all over again. I kept a low profile and didn't say much. It wasn't good or bad - it just was. I enjoyed learning but was often bored with life in general.

As a junior in high school, I won a scholarship to a small liberal arts school that I fell in love with upon visiting. On the first day of Christmas break my senior year, I got the official call that I had been accepted. I was obviously thrilled, but I also made a vow to myself that I would start living my life and sticking up for myself when I got to college. I wanted to have a life that was solely mine and not a life that worked for other people. I couldn't wait to go somewhere else and start a new life.

I joined a few clubs my freshman year, but it wasn't until sophomore year that I really found my voice. I found upperclassmen to look up to and learn from. I saw everything they were accomplishing and knew that if I wanted to see changes on campus that I would have to become a leader too.

I took opportunities that presented themselves and finally found my passions. I took over as president of a disability advocacy club, became treasurer of a community service club and joined multicultural committees. By putting myself with other students who were also seeking to make changes on campus, I learned that it's our right to have our voices heard. My friends taught me that it's good to question authority, especially when the students are the one's being affected. We know what our daily life is like and if there are issues we have to bring them to the right people.

I changed majors to Sociology, a field that teaches me about social issues and gives me the tools to analyze and brainstorm creative solutions. I actively learn about others experience's and try to better myself as a citizen. I've had to stand up to people, both peers and my superiors. I've done things that scare me. I've brought concerns to the administration and pushed for change. I know some people don't like me, but it's because I won't let them manipulate me anymore.

My advice for anyone that was quiet in high school but wants to see changes at their college, or in their community, is that you have to be willing to change for change. You need to find your passion(s) and find people to look up to. You have to step out of your comfort zone and be willing to lead. Find the right people to talk to and make an appointment.

It might be with a professor, the dean of students or even the college president. If you go to them and are respectful and prepared, they will listen, and if they don't, you can make them listen. You have the power to make change happen, if you're willing to change yourself for the better. As Martin Luther King Jr. so eloquently explained, "The road ahead is not altogether a smooth one. There are no broad highways that lead us easily and inevitably to quick solutions. But we must keep going."