When I was younger, I wasn't very outspoken. I kept my opinions to myself and I was scared to be seen as anything out of the norm, so I conformed. But college changed me. Coming to college, I realized that I have a voice and I should use it - I should use it to put my opinions and beliefs out there.

One of the things that I am most passionate about is women's rights. I very strongly believe that there is still a lot we must do before being able to say that we've reached gender equality. I've talked about this a lot of social media, especially on Twitter, but I kept feeling like there was still more I could personally do. I wanted to create some sort of a platform for women, for them to be able to talk about the inequality they face in society. After all, how can we start to solve issues if we don't even know what they are in the first place?

A few simple tweets about wanting to start this platform turned into the idea of creating a blog. Very quickly, however, the idea of a blog disappeared and it turned into something bigger: a magazine.

I was hesitant at first. As much as I have been writing for a while now, and am the Editor In Chief for The Odyssey at Arizona State University, I've never before had an online magazine of my own; that always just seemed to be a far-fetched dream which would never come true. It wasn't until people started reaching out to me themselves, saying that they would love to be a writer for this magazine if it were to ever actually happen, that it started to feel real.

In less than a month, I had a full-fledged website (thanks to my dad and a very talented web designer that he got in touch with) and over twenty writers - people who contacted me themselves and expressed interest in publishing articles. That is how Women's Republic, my online magazine, came to life.

To put it in a more simple manner, Women's Republic is my baby. It is my dream project. For someone who is so passionate about writing, and even more passionate about women's rights, having an online magazine of my own (even if it is still small) at 19 is insane; sometimes, it doesn't even feel real.

It isn't something I could have done on my own. I've had the help of my family, friends, and the amazing people who have become writers. They are the ones who put out amazing content, who use it as their platform to speak on what they believe in.

My point, though, is that nothing is impossible. We can all achieve our goals, and we can all make a difference when it comes to something we are passionate about - even if it is a very tiny difference.

Women's Republic is the beginning of how I'm following my dreams, but it is nowhere near the end; I have only just started working on my life-goals, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for me.

p.s - just to add in a little bit of quick shameless promoting, follow us on Twitter at @womensrepublic_ and check out our articles at womensrepublic.net