The current era of history seems like it’s more peaceful than the others, but it’s clear to many that the world has a great deal of social problems to address. We see movements motivated by hate worldwide, targeting all sorts of people.

While thinking about this, I came up with one thing I think is the truth: The problems troubling the world can be solved with the creativity of the youth. Our future generations will take over the world, so if we want the world’s problems to be solved, the youth must be involved. We need to think outside of the box to ensure a happy future exists for the next generation. It is not only about changing laws and policies; it can also be a movement or other different actions.

Our world is filled with probabilities and opportunities, and everyone deserves a chance to make a change. The world’s youth are its most creative passengers, but no one will listen to us. 

But who are we? We are thirteen percent of the population! Can the world really stop thirteen percent of us from making a change? 

Older people rule the world. In the United States, most senators are old; the average age of a State Representative in America is 57.9 years old, and the average age of a State Senator is 62.9 years old. The average age of the president is 55 years old, which is close to retirement!

Our country is already very divided. So, the way I see it, we should let our future take over the world! For once, let the voices of the future lead the way to it. Let us get involved with politics, and let us use their creativity to make changes for us, for our future!

In order for creativity to solve global problems, we have to work together. It only takes one person to make a change, but it’s a lot easier with a group working together. 

In school, we can make more programs about politics at school so the youth can better understand politics and what is happening around the world. 

Each school should decide on a global theme and work on it with the students every week. At the end of the year, they could send those thoughts to a government commission and have the answers compiled and examined.

This government commission would be staffed with young people, aged between 16 and 25, to read and select ideas that schools submitted to the government. The commission would have to vote on what will be selected, and they would present the results to youth clubs, which they would elaborate on. The government would also have a platform for the youth to offer their thoughts about solving different global problems and create opportunities for the youth to present them in front of the world.

The government should provide free courses about politics. This would help the youth understand and get involved with what they think could help combat global problems and gain a greater interest in politics.

We can also start different clubs and associations in our local community. With the youth working together, they will be able to address local problems in their local clubs.

As a teenager, what I want the government, and everyone, to understand is that the world needs fixing. No matter where you look, it’s easy to hear a story about a new injustice or about people being given a raw deal just for the color of their skin, how they feel, or what they believe in. There is too much hatefulness in the world, and we have to stop it. If nothing is done, that hate will spread and rot in the people it infects. The world I want is nothing like that.

As I’ve gotten older, I have realized that the systems put in place to protect us sometimes don’t. If we teenagers don’t work together for a better future for ourselves, then we might not get it. The people who make up the government are, on average, much later in their lives, and their experiences are just not the same as the generations that are growing up now. With younger people in the government, they will be able to work with a greater understanding of what the youth want, socially and politically, while still making sure that the older generations are provided for and cared for.

With the younger generation working together to put new, creative solutions into action, it will become truly possible to bring the world’s problems to an end.

Leo Liu ’26 is President of the Middle School Senate. Marlie Kass ’23 served as a contributing editor.