We were taught at an early age to "shake it off." A scraped knee, bruised elbow, even a broken heart. Taught early on to wipe our tears and to keep a smile on our face and in our back pockets at all times.

We were raised on "just ignore it" and "let it go." Raised with "I'm sorry" and "it's OK" on the tips of our tongues, always ready to take care of the next person but never ourselves.

We learned quickly that closing our eyes tighter doesn't make the monsters in our closets and under our beds disappear. We learned that the lessons on life aren't taught before the tests and exams are given out.

We have been given the task to change the world, a world that seems to focus all its energy on trying to change us. We have been deemed as lost, as if we don't know exactly where we stand in this world.

We were told that we were given the “tools" to make tomorrow better, but weren't told that tomorrow never seems to come. We were given the freedom to make tough choices and then were told that the choices aren't ours to make.

We were blamed for mistakes we never made. We were left to deal with the consequences of decisions made for us, not by us.

We were passed down the history of the world but then were told we weren't the future they were looking for.

We are more than they prepared for. We are more than the voices they seem to constantly hush. We are more than the raised fists in the air that they continue to push down. We are more than the broken spirits that they refuse to admit they have damaged.

We are everything they fear because we are everything they are not.

We aren't willing to shake it off any longer. We're tired of being called the problem when we seem to be the only ones looking for a solution. We are done closing our eyes and hoping that when we open them: something will have changed. We are tired of there being no change.

So we will take these tools that we were supposedly given, and we will use them to change the world. And we will learn from the mistakes we make: we will change what needs to be changed until we have fixed what we did not break. We will show you that you were right to fear us all along: but not for the right reason.

We aren't willing to wait any longer to make these changes: because the world stopped waiting for us a long time ago.

We will always be the generation that's “annoying, narcissistic, entitled, demanding, uneducated, self-centered" and whatever else they feel like calling us. But what we won't be is silenced.

We are taking back the voices you refused to listen to, lifting our fists higher in the air so you can see them clearer and putting ourselves and this world back together. Piece by piece. One by one.

Fear us or join us, but know you will not stop us.