Strength in Numbers

There is an old African proverb, "If you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far too together." Any significant change seen in history doesn't just come on from the will of only one person, but instead by a collective group. Think about it, The Civil Rights Movement, The Women's Movement, and most recently, the LQGTQ+ Movement have all impacted the course of the United States because of strength in numbers. In a democracy, the people hold power. The power the people have when working together is monumental and should never go unnoticed, today you'll be learning how your ideas and a group of friends can turn into something so much more.

All change within a society that challenges the standard way of doing things will be seen as odd by most. Humans are social creatures and don't like to ruffle feathers, so much so that even when they might think something is wrong, they'll conform to groupthink to fit in. Living a life with the least amount of conflict or adversity is traditionally the preferred method of living for most, but since you're reading this, you might be different from the rest. To start any movement, whether it be social, environmental, or political, it must come from one thing, and that's an idea. A single idea of "Hey, I don't like the way things are," can lead to a ripple effect that causes a tsunami. One idea, now take that idea and give it to a person, any person that might feel similar about the idea. Finding the first few members of an activist group can be challenging, but like anything in life, the first steps are always the hardest. Once you've found a group of maybe five to ten people, you now have a team, and that's where every movement starts. All movements start out with a small group of like-minded individuals united by an idea, and their tenacity and vocalization bring more people like them together. Once a movement starts to gain momentum, the sky's the limit for its possibilities of change if appropriately handled. 

In this digital age of social media, the internet is at the tips of so many people, starting a movement and fighting for a cause you believe in has never been so accessible. With a day's worth of work, you could create a web page and platform for your initial ideas, post them on the web, leading to finding your first support team. Once you've established your initial team, they can assist with the creation of better web tools, strategies and connect you to a larger possible audience. When people interact with a social media post, whether it be liking it, disliking it, or commenting, engagement fuels conversion and implants seeds of change in people's minds. Movements don't just form overnight. They take many months and even years to see the smallest amount of change to come from them. Time and time again, movements fizzle out because people give up and can't weather the difficult storm that is ahead when trying to change the statuesque. I implore you not to give up on something you feel passionately about. If you see injustice do something to help end it, don't conform to a life of indifference. 

I want to leave you with this, nothing good has ever come from standing idly by. Without risk-takers, without visionary's, we wouldn't have half the things we appreciate  and take for granted today. It's the people that push the envelope that moves the world forward. People like Malala Yousafzai, a woman, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize at age 17, are who the world needs. You could be the next Nobel Prize winner, but it all starts an idea. My friend, go out there and change the world.