This text about doubts and the search for meaning in times of war. I try to show with examples teenagers who are already adults, mature, whose personalities I know that even small local actions can trigger big changes in society. These are reflections on social responsibility, the power of youth and how not to lose faith in one's own influence.
I am increasingly faced with the opinion of young people: «But I am not at all sure /not sure that I can do something or influence something in this life».
Just the other day I had a conversation with a 10th grader, does it make sense now, in the realities of war, to do anything at all for the state or society. Because infrastructure facilities can be destroyed, and society often looks ungrateful for what volunteers or activists do for it, the meaning of phrases you hear or read is usually something like this: «war, not on time», «why money does not go to the front», etc.
And in me, too, the desire to give up everything and work exclusively for war often struggles. Because why do I, being in the service in the rear, have the right to live life, and my brothers in the east — do not? Is this an adequate reaction? Probably no more than yes. And, actually, my brothers told me that I was a ram for these thoughts. But still — does not mean that nothing should be done.
I want to tell a few stories about that, what young people can do and what impact it can have, especially in small towns or communities. I will talk about two of my graduates and one graduate of projects, who today have become friends for me, and in some places almost family.
One girl from Slavutych, another from Zvyagel, a boy from Zaporizhzhia. Ordinary teenagers 14–15 years old. After participating in the project, they return home with the idea of doing something for their peers. In Zvyagel, the girl launches active activities — projects, events, creation of youth culture. In Slavutych, another project enters a university and later begins to work in a youth center and directly influence the development of the environment for young people, and later brings the second generation of participants to the project. A guy from Zaporizhzhia became interested in urban planning: he researches infrastructure, interacts with local authorities, fights for the development of public transport and the gradual departure from minibuses and the unification of payments in transport.
At first glance, these are small and even «trivial» cases on a country scale. But many adults don't even do that. And it is from such steps that great changes begin. Over the past seven years, Zvyagel is not the city it was at all. Slavutych also changed, despite the war. And in Zaporizhzhia, a teenager actually influenced a topic that affects hundreds of thousands of citizens.
And here it is important to understand: the result does not come immediately. There is a psychological moment — seems to us that if we do not see an instant effect, then everything is useless. But any social change — is a domino effect. Small actions, even invisible at the beginning, years later form a completely different picture, step by step, brick by brick.
I myself have not understood this for quite some time — the meaning of the influence I make. Somewhere, probably, I was even disappointed, because I did not see changes and did not feel them. But this feeling came to me literally eight years after I first decided to «to impact» in the then very young changemakers. And now I see exactly what has been changed, what they have become and what we are now united by — pass on these changes to the new generation.
What can young people do today? It's easy to start: help organize an event at school, volunteer at local events, write about community problems, gather like-minded people. It's not always loud, but it always matters. Because if you are not — then who?
Don't listen to those who say it makes no sense. The very fact of your action changes something — at least yourself. And changes within — are always the first step to change in the world around.
