This text is about doubts and the search for meaning in times of war. I try to show through examples of teenagers who are already adults, mature, individuals I know, that even small local actions can trigger significant 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 increasingly encounter the thoughts of young people: “I’m not sure at all that I can do anything or influence anything in this life.”
Just the other day, I had a conversation with a 10th grader, whether it makes sense to do anything for the state or society now, in the realities of war. Because infrastructure can be destroyed, and society often seems ungrateful for what volunteers or activists do for it, the meaning of the phrases you hear or read is usually something like: “war, not the time,” “why is money not going to the front,” and so on.
And within me, there is often a struggle with the desire to drop everything and work exclusively for the war. Because why do I, being in service in the rear, have the right to live a life, while my comrades in the east do not? Is this a reasonable reaction? Probably more no than yes. And, in fact, my comrades told me that I was foolish for these thoughts. But still — this does not mean that it is not worth doing anything.
I want to tell a few stories about what youth can do and what impact they can have, especially in small towns or communities. I will talk about two of my graduates and one graduate of projects who have become friends to me today, and in some ways, almost family.
One girl from Slavutych, another from Zvyagel, a boy from Zaporizhzhia. Ordinary teenagers aged 14–15. After participating in the project, they return home with the idea of doing something for their peers. In Zvyagel, the girl initiates active activities — projects, events, creating youth culture. In Slavutych, another one conducts a project, enrolls in a university, and later starts working in a youth center, directly influencing the development of the environment for youth, and later brings a second generation of participants into the project. The boy from Zaporizhzhia became interested in urban studies: he researches infrastructure, interacts with local authorities, fights for the development of public transport, and the gradual phasing out of marshrutkas and unification of payments in transport.
At first glance, these are small and even “trivial” matters on a national scale. But many adults do not even do this. And it is from such steps that significant changes begin. Zvyagel has changed completely over the last seven years. Slavutych has also changed, despite the war. And in Zaporizhzhia, a teenager has practically influenced a topic that affects hundreds of thousands of city residents.
And here it is important to understand: results do not come immediately. There is a psychological moment — we feel that if we do not see immediate effects, then everything is in vain. But any social changes are a domino effect. Small actions, even unnoticed at first, over the years form a completely different picture, step by step, brick by brick.
I myself did not understand this for quite a long time — the significance of the influence I have. Somewhere, I probably even got 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 “impact” those still very young changemakers. And now I see what has actually changed, how they have become, and what unites us now — to pass these changes on to the new generation.
What can youth do today? Start with simple things: help organize an event at school, volunteer at local events, write about community issues, gather like-minded people. It is not always loud, but it always matters. Because if not you — then who?
Do not 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 towards changes in the world around.
