When people ask me what I am passionate about, 9 out of 10 times my mind goes blank. When the question came up in IFP the same thing happened. I thought about it for a while till I realised that I might as well just write and see what comes out. What I wrote seemed to make no sense but it was every raw thought that I truly felt about the topic that I was passionate about.

I am passionate about people having a voice. I believe that opinions matter and should be used to make an impact as long is the impact is positive. But this is not the same as freedom of speech. Whenever hate is spread, the argument exists that speaking your mind is a human right; freedom of speech. But having a voce is different. To me, having a voice means to be able to have and express an opinion about something that you feel is wrong and to make a positive change to correct it. These thoughts also are fascinating; the way people think and function is another thing that really interests me. These thoughts are extremely important although they may not seem so. People should not be afraid to have a voice and an opinion. It should be something that comes naturally to everyone. The factthat it doesn’t shows that there is a problem with our community’s mindset that needs to be corrected. Opinions are extremely important for peace building because opinions are usually the core of the issue that is causing the conflict. By bringing these opinions out in a non- violent way, they can be addressed and compromised upon to achieve peace.

But when it came to saying this on stage, I could not do it. I faced the exact problem that I wanted to make a change in. My opinion seemed unimportant and in some ways irrelevant and I did not think anybody wanted to hear about it. I was afraid to go up in front of my peers and express my thoughts because I was afraid of the judgement. So every time there was a lull between speakers, I was adamant not to go up, no matter how awkward the silence. But soon I realised that I was hiding my own voice, something that I believed was a problem.

It was then I got up sat on the soap box and spoke. I modified a lot of what I wrote when I said it as it did not really make sense. but the whole time I sat there, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. I was nervous, I was scared but I knew that if I was passionate about something I should not be afraid to be the one to make a difference.