Emeline has been a youth advocate for several years, and often finds that it is harder to get people to listen to her because often when you are young, people assume you know nothing. After not being asked for her ID when purchasing her first lottery ticket, she realized how crazy it was that she was seen as mature enough to buy a lottery ticket but if she had spoken about politics, or social justice issues, she would still be counted as too naive and young.

When you are young people often assume that you know nothing. After being a youth advocate for several years, Emeline has learned this the hard way, and has found that adults typically look to youth advocates as too naive to fully be listened to. Emeline wants to help change this though. Adults and youth are living in the same world, and are impacted by the same exact issues– so why don’t we work together to speak up against them?

In her talk, Emeline speaks towards this by discussing her own journey through youth advocacy and the importance of giving youth power to share their voices. "
Emeline has been taught her entire life to always show kindness and stand up for others. Though she seems quiet, she's always showing these values through her voice. Emeline is a proud advocate and has testified to pass several bills, helped make better education curricula around social issues, and alsos a intern for the advocacy organization, Colorado Youth Congress. With this however comes the issue of being a teenager– and the prejudice people have towards that.

When you’re young, people often assume that you know nothing. Emeline’s learned this through her years of advocacy, and hopes to one day help erase the power dynamics between adults and youth, while also inspiring youth to have the courage to share their voices. Nothing's as important as working together to make the world a kinder place, and Emeline wants to help bring that to life.

She will be heading off to St. Olaf College to study Psychology, and to continue sharing her kindness, hope, and optimism in the fall. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx