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Two summers ago while attending California Teen Court Summit I took a workshop that changed my life.  The workshop was called “Know Your Rights.” During this workshop I realized how few of my rights I knew. The government is a powerful force and being a minor you are left with even less power. The one thing minors do have is their rights, but there is no point in having any rights if people don’t know how to use them to their advantage, and the first step to that is learning what your rights are. I knew then and there that I needed to encourage and teach people their rights.

The first step was to find a means by which I could spread the information. All the ideas I had would have taken up more time than I had and resources I did not have access to.  I have ended up just listing off rights to my friends and family anytime I get a chance. Though I do feel better knowing that the people close to me know their rights, it still hurts me to think that so many people are being taken advantage of by the law because they do not know their rights.

When the opportunity of doing a TEDx talk arose, I realized it was a means by which I could encourage people to learn their rights.  Though I was terrified when I applied and am still terrified now, I am also very excited, excited to finally get the chance to explain to people why it is important to know their rights. This entire experience of doing a TEDx talk may be totally nerve racking and stressful, and  knowing that I will hopefully improve people’s well being makes it totally worth it.