Do you all remember the story of the boy and the starfish?  The chaos after the storm. The hopelessness of feeling like we can never make a difference to the thousands of the starfish stranded on the shore. This past month the media has been filled with chaos and we too may feel like we cannot make a difference to the storm.

It’s the power of the ripple effect. Call me a naive optimist but I believe in the power of an individual and the impact of one good deed. A problem that many of us face is that no one appreciates our desire to make a difference and throw the starfish back into the ocean.

The TED talk  ‘I’m 17’’ , focuses on this very phenomenon, that we as young people have to work overly hard to have our ideas heard. Just because we haven’t lived in the ‘real world’ yet doesn’t mean our beliefs aren’t valid. Theoretically we all have the same intrinsic knowledge of right and wrong. It is just that ours may be clearer as we are younger, whereas an adults’ may be more foggy.

Our voices may seem little but I believe we have an advantage. For we are still within our naive shell seeing the good in the world and looking at it in wonder. Or alternatively we may be going through a critical teenage angst phase which gives us the power to think critically. We have not been weathered by the harsh waves of the world. We can come running at this with required determination that only we possess. Although we may not have much life experience, we deserve to be heard.

We will make a difference. We will throw back a starfish.