On Sept. 29, local youth – including Ray Shepherd Elementary’s Gregor Morrison – were inspired by the ‘Me to We’ event in Vancouver. Gregor wrote this essay for his Grade 7 class.

We Day. The annual heart-stopping, stomach-churning, nail-biting event.

This one-of-a kind festival featured awe-inspiring names, such as the Dalai Lama, Dr. Jane Goodall, and Mark and Craig Kielburger. Their mission was difficult, their message was easy – advertising the power of “we.”

As I leaned on the edge of my seat beside my peers, Michel Chikwanine delivered a terrifying yet heartwarming speech about his life as a child soldier. I stared down, transfixed, and I heard his cry echo around the stadium. As he dramatically reenacted the soldiers bellows of “Shoot!” the entire stadium fell silent.

The last of the giggling, whispering and occasional texting were dormant. All 16,000 of us youth were sickened by what this young man – little older than us – was put through. I think at that moment the light bulb went on.

We knew our time had come – our time to make a difference. Hearing of his horrific struggle, including being forced to shoot his best friend, changed our state of mind.

As he departed from the stage, I knew what we had to do. We have to harness the power of We.

Once all these amazing people had their turn at the microphone, we had a clearer picture of the path ahead. Whether we decide to follow Goodall’s footsteps and take the environmental point of view, or if we take on the Kielburgers’ desperate pleas for help with children across the globe, as 16,000 of us left the jam-packed stadium into the brisk Vancouver streets below, we all had a mission.

As I looked around at the other dumbstruck kids around me, I knew they felt the same. It was our chance... no, our duty.

It’s our duty to redo our blood-thirsty past.

In the words of the Dalai Lama, “This is going to be our century of peace.” It’s our duty to fix our environment, to stop greenhouse gases polluting our only earth. It’s our duty to stop racism, differences, and to look at each other as people. It’s our duty to help the less fortunate, may these be the homeless on your street or the helpless children in Africa.

It’s our duty to change the world.

You may read this and say that’s an impossible fantasy of a child, like flying to a distant planet. But as I drew my coat closer and jumped over a puddle to get to the bus, I saw the determined expressions on my peers. Reassured, I sighed. I knew we were in good hands.

Apart, we might not make much of a difference. Together, “we” can.

Gregor Morrison, Surrey