Dear World, This is a letter from a young Moroccan girl who writes to you on the INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOUTH: Yesterday I turned 23 years old, and as I look back to the past years, I realized that I haven’t reached my full potential. I deal with a lot of problems, and encounter many obstacles, prejudices and stereotypes about what I can and cannot achieve as a girl. All of my achievements and successes are’t handed to me on a golden plate, but are the results of a great deal of resilience, pe...

“Enjoy your youth, you’ll never be younger than you are at this very moment”Let us start this discussion with a reminder that time is valuable, and today, matters more than yesterday, or tomorrow. Let us not hesitate to believe that our past cannot hold us back, for the future. Youth have been the inception of all things great – over the years, we see youth, not only behind the scenes, but at the frontlines of change.If youth are the trustee of prosperity, then why can’t they be provided the com...

Five months have passed since the anniversary of the Syrian war, a war that has forced us to do things we don't want to do. In memory of that day I wrote a blog on the story of my life sharing what my childhood was like since the beginning of the war and until now: "How war changed me." You can read the blog to know the full story.In this blog I mentioned my first friend in my life. We were five years old when we first met and we stayed together until the war started, when we were forced to leav...

One of the biggest needs for young people is to have a safe space where they can gather around, interact with each other, participate in activities that relate to their needs and interests and be able to make big decisions and life choices. We, as young people, desire to speak and live with an open heart. Regardless of who we are or where we are from, we need a place to be free where we can be ourselves without judgment.As a girl into gaming, I found that there are some people in society that fi...

Olivia Andrews knows what it’s like to be stereotyped for the color of her skin daily. As a 17-year-old Indian teenager living in the U.S., who excels academically, she is often labeled as quiet, studious, reserved, and unwilling to have fun. But Olivia feels she is anything but. She always brings an added flare of excitement and creativity to whatever projects she works on and enjoys in her free time letting loose with her friends.But she hasn’t always been like this. While Olivia used to strug...

According to Google the word help means, "Make it easier or possible for (someone) to do something by offering them one's services or resources."I would like to know…What does help mean to you?Help is something everyone needs and when we receive it, we probably feel loved and grateful towards the person who offered it to us.A couple of weeks ago something happened that marked my heart.I was at work and decided to take a break since I was feeling stressed. During this time I called my mom to spea...

This is the phrase that paralyzes the victim,On the terms of the perpetrator,Don't talk; he says,If you want to live another day.Wasters of destiny they are,Gratifying their lust, with the scream of the innocent.This is the last time he promised,But walked in through the same door, he shut the previous night.Your phones lie fallow, blinking at you to call for help,Your vocal cords vibrate, hoping you would make the noise of liberation,But fear tells you it's safer to keep silent,Society beckons...

Statistics show a worrisome picture of mental health worldwide: depression is the leading cause of disability, and every 40 seconds someone dies by suicide.But in no population group are current statistics on mental health more worrisome than young people. Globally, suicide is the second leading cause of death of young people between the ages of 15 and 29 and the leading cause for girls between the ages of 15 and 19. Mental health conditions also often begin during the teen and young adult years...

Being rejected is an every day part of our lives and it can suck. The reason rejection sucks is that our species depends on being social and interacting with each other, regardless of how anti-social some of us are. I, as an introvert, find being around people often tiring, okay? I think some of you can agree on that. Anyway, despite how smoothly you think your life is going, you are bound to run into rejection the moment you set foot outside your home. I guess when you hear the word "rejection"...