If you are familiar with the television show, Grey’s Anatomy, I’m sure you recall the moment where Amelia Shepherd takes the “superhero pose” before performing one of the most important surgeries of her career.

Now, if you are not familiar with the series or this particular scene don’t click away just yet; allow me to elaborate. Before surgery, Shepherd stands with clenched fists at her side and her chest held high and confident. With a powerful expression she turns to her interns and explains,” a scientific study shows that if you stand like this, in a superhero pose for just five minutes before a job interview or a big presentation, you will not only feel more confident but perform measurably better.”

Though this is from a fictional television series, what Amelia Shepherd said was based on a true study. The “superhero pose” truly does work and I believe it sums up the influence of the latest generation, one I am part of, Generation Z.

When my generation gets discussed, the topic of technology is almost always attached. As young adults who grew up in the midst of the internet, it has become synonymous with our generation. With the entire world at our fingertips, within our smartphones and laptops, our access to knowledge and news holds no bounds.

We get notifications about the most recent tragedies which makes us the first to mourn. We get alerts about the most recent victories which makes us the first to celebrate. And like the bat-signal to Batman, these notifications and alerts are to us a call for action which makes us the first to take a stance.

As a generation, who has come of age during the era of an African American president and the legalization of same-sex marriage, we don’t stand for anything less than social progress. Especially when that progress is challenged is where you see a rise of gen Z speaking out in protest. Centennials are often found taking to the streets fighting for social reform because we were raised in a time that set a societal standard.

The changes within the world have forced us to stand in a constant power pose. The confidence boost gained from this permanent position leads to the resistance of being silent and the acknowledgment of the capabilities we hold. On a personal account, I take great pride in being part of a generation that unapologetically stands up for what they believe in.

lIn an article published by the Los Angeles Times regarding the tragic school shooting in Parkland, FL., it stated, “generation Z emerged overnight.” It was students of this generation that have witnessed an alarming amount of gun violence that rallied together to be heard. They held school walkouts, Capitol Hill sit-ins, and town hall meetings. They stood unafraid, clenched fists at their side with their chest high and confident.

Generation Z contributes to nearly a quarter of the world’s population which puts the future, undoubtedly, in our hands. To be born in an era that is an illustration of how far we’ve come is raw motivation to see how far we’ll go and that is our greatest superpower.

We have seen the influence we carry and the change we can enact. My peers and I are a generation of superheroes simply because we have to be and we won’t be hanging up our capes anytime soon.