In the aftermath of the Parkland shooting, just one month ago, there has been a wake in positive movements. On March 14, this past Wednesday, at 10:00 a.m., students from across the country walked out in protest of gun violence. Our fellow students, even those much younger than college age, are standing up and speaking out. While the reason they are forced to protest is tragic, their spirit and determination is admirable beyond words.
And in this age of young voices being heard, one voice stands out distinctly. Emma Gonzalez.
Emma Gonzalez is an 18-year-old senior at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, where the shooting took place. With her signature shaved head and her unfathomable ability to speak loudly in the aftermath of a tragedy, she has quickly become the face of the younger generation. The young, angry, and determined generation.
She was first seen giving a statement after the shooting, where she called “BS” on every lawmaker and politician who has made mass shootings easier to occur.
Her words were loud, distraught, and absolutely furious.
They made a point that stuck. While on the podium, she would wipe away tears so that she could keep reading her speech. There are pauses where she takes a moment to collect herself, the incident still too fresh.
In this video, she is titled as “Florida student,” but now everybody knows her name. The YouTube video of her speech, posted by CNN, has over 2 million views. She has also done an interview with CNN and is scheduled to speak at the Harvard Institute of politics, along with other survivors. In the wake of this tragedy, she has even co-founded of the gun-control advocacy group, “Never again MSD.”
There is a sense of urgency about her, and a feeling that she knows what she's doing. That she's set her jaw and knows what she has to do. And even now, so soon after the shooting, she's already made progress.
In her speech she says, “If all our government and president can do is send ‘thoughts and prayers,’ then it’s time for victims to be the change that we need to see.”
This is a sentiment that has been echoed across schools across the nation.
Young victims aren’t letting their grief destroy them, they’re letting their grief fuel them.
Emma Gonzalez represents much more than just tragedy. As the president of her school’s GSA (gay-straight alliance) club, and as the daughter of a Cuban immigrant, she represents everything that she is fighting to protect.
“I’m 18 years old, Cuban, and bisexual,” she says in her Harper’s Bazaar essay.
In this age of protest, and of fighting against prejudiced government ideas, it makes sense that the face of the younger generation would become someone who represents everything that the U.S. government has tried to end.
She is, to some degree, the American government’s worst nightmare: a young Cuban bisexual girl, who is not afraid to make a change, not afraid to be loud, and speaks up when others would rather she be silent.
She's seen too much of tragedy at too young, and rather than break her, it's defined her. Like it has for too many students.
Even with the strength she has shown, and the admiration that has welled up in response, there is an element of regret. She never asked to be made into an icon and has stated that she never expected her speech to get the attention that it did.
She is young, not yet graduated high school. Fellow students, like Gonzalez, are being forced to fight and stand up for their own lives. They are strong, yes, but at what personal cost?
I admire Emma Gonzalez greatly. She is determined. She is powerful. She is not backing down. She is making a change.
She is representative of the young generation, which means, she is ready.
Watch out. She’s coming.
If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the video of her speech here.
