Tension hung in the air.

The whistle was blown.

The shot was fired.

But rather than firing into the air,

they fired into the hearts of my fellowmen.

I took off, my legs moving at speeds

it had never reached before.

Around me the crowd cheered,

or cried for help – I couldn’t tell.

But my race had begun.

They promised peace at the finish line.

I had to get it, for my family,

for my country, for my world.

So I pushed myself further, straining against

the ropes of my ability.

I was determined.

Throughout my training, they’d tried to dissuade me.

This is not a game for children, they said.

Leave it to the adults.

Leave it to the ones who got us here?

Even today, they told me to give up.

But I was determined.

Before my very eyes,

I’ve seen children hurting at the loss of their homes,

their childhood memories tinged with blood and loss.

They deserve better than this.

They deserve peace.

So I was determined.

While training I used to hear the sounds of

a thousand hearts shattering when mothers were told

that they no longer had a son, for the war decided

to make them stay with their Father.

They deserved to see their sons grow up.

Their sons deserved to grow up.

So I was determined.

The hunger, the pain, the loss, the destruction –

the wails of my fellow beings echoed in my heart.

Tears threatened to fall, but they had to be blinked away.

I was in the middle of the

most important race that I would ever run.

I was determined.

So with bullets flying, people dying,

the loss of cultures and countries and lands and humanity

looming over us like dark storm clouds,

I ran with all that I had.

I didn’t let it get to me, not when

the end was so close.

I was determined.

I could see the finish line.

I could hear the promise of peace

beckoning me, tantalising me.

The world seemed to draw in a breath.

Could this be it? It had to be.

I was determined that it would be.

And with that my body crashed into

the ribbon at the finish line,

with it furling around me, bearing victory.

The crowd went silent.

I came to a halt. I had done it.

I had actually done it.

Around the world, millions of other students had done the same.

We all stood at our finish lines,

our crowds slowly beginning to clap.

Together, we unfurled the banner of peace.

We stood as one, facing the rest of the world.

We were determined.

Don’t underestimate the power of the youth. We’ve got dreams in our eyes and pain in our hearts and determination coursing through our veins. We will be the change.