We are at that time of our lives when everything still seems magical. A 2 a.m. adventure is full of possibility, the sound of a crowd singing together fills us with vibrancy, and laughing till we cry with friends makes us feel more alive than any drug ever could.

Who are we? We are searchers, we are confused, we are blank slates. We can choose to give our lives a purpose, and we can opt to recreate ourselves out of brokenness.

We work hard, and we give our best. We excel but are told we are not good enough. For our parents, our teachers. For college, for the acceptance and love of another person.

We fall asleep crying and wake up to fight back. We are oppressed by standards that burn in harsh light but come alive in darkness screaming together that we exist.

We live and breathe the music that tells our story in a way that we never could. We spit out words at random and hold back the ones that matter most. We are raw.

We act on impulse and feel a rush. We search for something permanent - perhaps another person that makes this age-old world seem new again. We believe, and we search for answers. We aspire to be everything we were told we couldn’t.

Who are we? We are the future. We are now.

We see things we shouldn’t; we secretly hope to hide and not have to see the world in all of its cruel reality.

But we persist. We create. We work and break boundaries. We imagine and aspire.

We matter. We are important.

We are, above all else, a generation united in our strivings to make a difference - to be heard over the noise. Make an impact.

Underestimated? Maybe. But we will change that, too.