So, you missed the marches. You missed the protests because you were too busy at work/school/taking care of the millions of things you have to do as a real-life adult humanoid and now you're sitting there thinking to yourself: why couldn't I have done more?
A lot of "adults" think of college students as youths too clouded by what we see in the media to actually form opinions of our own. They look at us at rallies and marches and protests and think that we don't have the life experience to be able to stand up for something, that we're too warped by our college bubble to see real problems affecting American citizens. "We just don't have the life experience yet." I lost count of how many people have told me this over the course of the last few months. Despite this rather nasty view of the twenty-something millennials out there, there is one thing they cannot take away from us: our incredible acceptance of others and willingness to fight for our rights and our safety.
I've known women who have been shouted at, groped, assaulted, and spat on in college. I've known women that have experienced this in high school. Middle school. Elementary school. I've heard countless occurrences of women getting hijabs ripped from their heads. Just last semester, countless numbers of trans-gender students were yelled at in unisex restrooms, disowned by their families, and betrayed by people they thought were friends. I've read poetry by people in my college that struggle to deal with having parents who abandoned them at a young age, who brainwashed them, who manipulated them. I know African Americans who are terrified to express themselves for fear of racism or violence.
College is wonderful in that it brings people from all backgrounds together. I'm not saying that it's perfect and there is still a huge problem with the lack of diversity on many campuses. But I've met people with countless stories. I've heard people for the first time speak up about the things that they've had to deal with because of their race, religion, sexuality, gender, and income. It was through wonderful clubs and poetry events and fundraisers and plays and performances and meetings and safe spaces.
If you were unable to get to the protests this weekend, don't feel guilty. You're doing the best you can by supporting the ones you love. You can continue to do that by writing. You can continue to do that on college campuses by joining clubs on campus that promote diversity. You can change someone's life by giving them a shoulder to lean on. You can do so many things just by getting informed. And if you're one of the people that recognize that they're uninformed but don't know how to ask for help as you're trying to understand the different views, you can always ask.
Everyone deserves to be heard. As a "youth," I want to let you know that I accept you and that I am always here to help in whatever way I can. Even if I don't have the "life experience" necessary that makes my views valid.
