“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

What do you think of when you here the phrase “freedom of speech?” Ignorance sometimes brings our generation to believe that freedom of speech includes things like racial slurs or repetitive swearing, blatantly abusing a privilege one can only find in our country. Freedom of speech should be used as a light. To educate others in any way, creative or just straight forward.

I come to you from a place in time that should consist of growing and finding yourself–finding your voice. For me, this place in time is my college career, for others, it may be just the overall separation from family and old friends who may have been incorporated in every aspect of their lives. This moment that we find ourselves in is the most precious of moments. The moment when we are supposed make our own voice, to use the idea of “freedom of speech,” to further our knowledge with questions and to voice truths on many topics. For me, as a strongly opinionated person, I enjoy using my voice to speak up about things, whether it’s through a satirical article in the paper or even just contributing in class. I find a lot of times our society has a very cookie-cutter mentality in that everyone should be hush mouthed and never say anything to move people from their seats. Constantly aiming for being accepted but never aiming towards things that should be said and saying things that should be heard.

At times, people find themselves wandering outside of the norm of hand over mouth, writers and lyricists alike. We later get controversial songs and books that stir up emotions that get us talking and analyzing–precisely what should occur. The cookie-cutter mentality from surrounding minds then comes in and pops our bubbles of thought preventing us from further growth of the mind. Don’t let these close minded thinkers infest your growth pool! This is your time to use your voice when it has the most affect… as a college student. You may sit there and laugh saying you have no voice as a college student, but you are the future of the country. Don’t use your right to freedom of speech on ramblings of nothing. Use it to open eyes around you.