I am an average girl from an American middle-class family. I grew up in a safe, beautiful town with a great school system, had parks to play in, and a quiet street to ride my bike down on sunny summer afternoons. The environment I was raised in supported me when I fell down, encouraged me to follow my dreams, and inspired me to be the best version of myself.

I have flaws and challenges in my life, as any human does. But if I put away the microscope on my own life and open up my eyes to what goes on beyond the security of my own suburban home, I realize that life is not as kind.

My student loans don't seem as daunting when I'm reading about the four million Syrian refugees forced from their homes by rebel armies, tanks, and bullets at their backs.

My upcoming finals don't feel so scary thinking about the 48 women whom are brutally raped every hour in the Congo.

The fight I had with my best friend doesn't seem as critical when I'm watching a marvelous city mourn the lives of 129 innocent civilians at the hands of terrorists.

The "D" on my calculus test doesn't feel as earth-shattering at the mere thought of the thousands of children torn from their families and forced to serve in child armies.

I am not implying that my problems should be discounted because they are not violent or life threatening. I have the right to feel that my life isn't always easy, because it isn't. I can also recognize that not all Americans have it as good as I do; injustice has no borders.

However, because I don't reside in a deadly war torn country, because I don't live in constant fear of being raped day after day, because my personal safety is viewed as more of a right than a privilege, I have a voice and the power to insight change.

Americans need to realize that every day we wake up on American soil with a government that is armed to protect us, not harm us, we are privileged. We are privileged that we live in a country that values life. We are privileged to have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Denying this privilege to others and using it only to benefit oneself is an unspeakable evil. If the only people with voices refuse to speak, the world turns silent. Where there should be unity, there is separation; where there should be kindness, there is neglect; where there should be happiness, there is suffering.

Privilege is a powerful tool too many waste. If those with privilege used it help others rather than simply furthering their own, the world would be a more unified place. Helping others find privilege doesn't make yours any less powerful, so what's to lose?