I’ll be honest: whenever I care about something, I tend to get caught up and maybe even a little intense – but it’s always with good intentions. Injustice frustrates me, and feeling helpless only makes it worse.

I take up causes not because I want praise or because it’s the “cool” thing to do – I take up my causes because I want to change the world. I do not intend to change it singlehandedly, but I also refuse to sit and read the news and shrug it off.

I know I probably can’t change the world on my own, but I can try. If you see me debating with someone about the dangers of Trump being a leading candidate or police brutality or colorblindness, I am not trying to start a fight, but I am trying to show others what they wish to ignore.

If my friends and I rally together in order to protest the mishandling of sexual assault cases, it’s not me trying to make a scene; it’s me trying to make a change. I want this world to be fair. I fear for girls and boys who might fall prey to the urges of others. I wish to save them, and if I can’t save them, I wish to redeem them.

Frankly, when it comes to speaking, I’m not a very good orator. Maybe I say things too crudely or just go off on rants, but if you really listen, there’s a purpose. There is so much in this world that breaks my heart, so when people claim that there’s nothing I can do to change it, I can’t help but get a little intense.

Maybe my actions won’t change anything, but maybe they’ll start something. I refuse to sit back when there’s clearly something I can do. I refuse to be silenced and censored when I know I’m in the right. I refuse to be called too passionate because you can never be too passionate about a good cause.

I will keep fighting for change, for a better world, so please don’t try to stop me. I cannot turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the evils of the world. Maybe I can’t change the world by myself, but we can change it together. Just remember: it’s drops of water that make the ocean – it’s little steps that change the world.