One year ago, the Pakistani Taliban attempted to assassinate teenager Malala Yousafzai for speaking up for what she believed in, but the bullet sure didn’t stop her.

Rather, it motivated her even more. Yousafzai lives in an area where Taliban soldiers have taken control of villages and towns and oppress the people with their extremist ideas, including not allowing girls to go to school. But that didn’t stop her from going anyway; while riding the bus to school, a member of the Taliban sneaked inside and shot her point blank in the head.

They tried to silence her, but they only made her louder. In fact, her campaigning to bring more rights to girls in her country has won her many peace awards, she was even the youngest person ever to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and she was featured in Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World.”

Yousafzai has risked a lot for what she believes in, and not everybody could say they would do the same, as sophomore Seena Sebt said, “I wouldn’t stand up for any cause if it became dangerous to me or the people around me.”

However, some people claim they would make the ultimate sacrifice for their cause, like sophomore Dylan Walsh, who said, “I would die for my beliefs if they really meant a lot to me.”

When faced with opposition, Yousafzai certainly didn’t back down, and freshman Liam Jocson said he would do the same: “I wouldn’t give in to opposition because I don’t allow other people’s opinions or actions to impact me and my beliefs.”

Similarly, sophomore Bobby Goldie said, “If you can’t live without it, you should stand up for it.”

Yousafzai will continue to stand up for what she believes and will continue to inspire the people of the world, including the students of Carlmont, to never back down.

Picture of Malala Yousafzai
Source: ynaija.com