On March 24th, several members of our Youth Advisory Council joined youth across the country in participating in the national 'March for Our Lives' demonstration. The YAC members who participated organized themselves for this event, and participated not as YAC members, but as advocates for their communities. Read a reflection on the experiences from one of our YAC leaders below.
“On March 24th, I led a group of friends at the “March for Our Lives” demonstration. This was the very first march which I have been apart of, and it was amazing. The speeches, given by students from different ethnicities, clearly represented the wonderful diversity of San Diego and made me feel more comfortable to be in the march. Many of the ideas that teenagers have are often looked down upon my adults and others older than them. This march made it clear to those adults and others that the students have a voice and are the future of the world. I have never felt so proud and respected to be a teenager as the moment when we were about to being marching and every single person moved aside to allow the students to lead the march. While my group and I marched at the front, everyone cheered us on and thanked us for coming out. We had so much support and love that it felt as if we were superheroes going through a large crowd. My favorite chant was “The students united, will never be divided” because it showed the unity that our ‘youth culture’ has. The youth of San Diego are accustomed to a variety of different cultures and traditions, which we see in our daily life and, for the most part, this allows us to be more open minded. I plan on attending more marches in the future as it was a wonderful and unforgettable experience.”
– Miguel, Youth Advisory Council Leader
