It’s no secret that our country has its problems. Just in the past few weeks, we watched in horror as 49 innocent people were shot and killed inside a gay club in Orlando. Immediately following that, the national debate over gun control, LGBT rights and safety, and terrorism was reignited.

As soon as the shouts and screams from both sides started to die down, two black men were murdered by police officers within 24 hours of each other. Videos from both incidents were circulated over social media, causing public outrage. The Black Lives Matter movement was brought to the forefront of the public's eye once again, until it took the backseat to a shooting in Dallas, where five police officers were shot and killed at a peaceful protest by a man seeking revenge for the recent police brutality. And during all of this, the 2016 United States Presidential Election is unfolding like a bad reality show, with its fair share of racism, bigotry, lies, and scandals. Both candidates have earned some of the worst approval ratings we’ve ever seen in a presidential election and have polarized the country in a very dangerous way.

Nowadays, it's hard to scroll through Facebook without seeing someone posting their political opinion. Twitter is plastered with retweets of videos showcasing the scores of instances of social injustice. I’ve heard from lots of people that they’re sick of all of the fighting, and the opinions, and the political turmoil. They would rather Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram be a place solely for cute cat videos, gym selfies, and short recipe clips. While all of those things have their place, we have more important things to be talking about right now.

If you’re reading this, you’re at least somewhat familiar with what I do here; I write weekly articles with Odyssey that cover a variety of topics. My fellow writers from NC State and I have covered everything from HB2 to our faith, to Greek Life, to white privilege, to sexuality, to our personal lives. We found our voices through this platform that allows us to speak out and share our opinions. People are allowed to share, like, or comment on our articles, therefore opening a dialogue on the topics we write about. Personally, I think more people our age should be doing things like this.

There are more than 80 million Millennials in the United States, according to data from the U.S. census. Most of us are active on social media, and from my experience, most of us have an opinion about something, at least one issue or another. And while many are eager to share videos supporting #BlackLivesMatter and retweet phrases containing #Orlando following tragedy, many remain silent during the times when the headlines aren’t soaked in blood. Meaningful change isn’t going to happen specifically during crises. It takes time and continuous effort to make these changes and I believe that Millennials are instrumental in making these changes.

Millennials were raised in a world that needs fixing. We were kids when the economy crashed after the housing market tanked. We’re fighting our way into a workforce that doesn’t have enough space for everyone. Racism, homophobia, and other vicious forms of bigotry flex their grip on members of this country. It’s sad to say, but the generations that have come before us haven’t been able to solve these issues. The problems of our parents' generation have been passed onto us, along with new ones like global warming, a recovering economy, and a divisive political system. Our parents and their parents aren’t going to fix these issues, we have to--but some of us can’t even manage to register to vote.

We need to speak up. We need to find our voices. We need to talk about the problems that we’re having in this country if we want to have any hope of solving them. Join these movements that promote equality and justice. Educate yourself on economic issues and politics. Condemn violence, but encourage peaceful and productive action. Be a participant in this country, starting now. If we take a backseat and remain quiet, the decisions will be made by the same people who have been making them, and our country will remain the same.

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty damn tired of the same in this country--shootings, fighting, and inequality. Let’s speak up and change this.