I'm only 18 so I don't know everything, but I know what I've lived and I know what I've seen.
I believe in magic.
Not that old fashioned, Mumbo jumbo, but more meaningful modern day marvels. The power of one word, or one action, one simple thing that creates a chain reaction.
We live in a world of terror and fear
Where one person's words can ruin all you hold dear. A world where politicians often act like children and countries decide to play nuclear chicken. With one single word, one little command, and the turn of two keys from two human hands, entire countries can dissolve and cease to exist as a radioactive winter falls over the land.
Our nations are fighting so we shouldn't be surprised when we look around and realize that our conflict is internalized.
Teachers can't teach because they're too busy preaching and begging to get a 1% raise; they're responsible for educating the next generation so I don't think it's too much for them to get a decent wage. Meanwhile, people are getting paid millions to chase around a little ball, which should be illegal because Robbery is a crime. Maybe we could use some of the money from our overpaid athletes and devote a little bit more to America's future instead of the national past-time.
Then there's the students. How can a student be expected to worry themselves with community service and getting perfect grades when we don't even know if we'll live through the day? In the hallways we feel like sheep ready to be slaughtered, all because of one harsh word that someone just had to say. As teenagers, we should be naive and ignorant; our chief concerns should be our petty drama and staring at the clock, not worrying if the kid behind us is carrying a Glock. I've felt the eeriness of a Cafeteria where no one is making noise because everyone is wondering if the next time it'll be them, if that one little joke, that one thing they said was reason enough for someone to want them dead.
We constantly get criticized for being lazy and somnolent; We're told to stand up and seize the future. But when we're the targets and we try to make our voices heard, we're told that we're too young and that we don't understand the problem at hand. And that's true, we don't; but we're not claiming to. We're just trying to be the impetus that starts something new. I try to keep reserved and not give my opinion but there have been events that forced my hand to a decision. For even the quietest voices, now is their time to be heard; it's their time to shine and step out from the herd.
We don't know the solution, we don't know how to bring this to resolution; all we know is what we know to be true. We've learned from our parents that we should stand up for what's right, and we've learned from history that it's always a fight. But all that it takes is one little change; just one little word although it seems strange. Because though our words can our fates seal, they have the power to help everything heal. And that's where I see magic, it's always around us. It's in a school coming together and making the choice to choose kind, it's in the boy scouts helping out a woman who's blind. It's in friends checking to make sure you're alright and telling your parents you love them when you tell them goodnight.
YOU ARE READING
Magic
Non-FictionThis is an unfinished spoken word piece that is my contribution to the March for Our Lives movement