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It was such an honor to be named one of the Ebony Magazine Power 100 for 2012.

I know I have a lot of responsibility and I hope to use my power to end youth violence and inspire other youth to understand they do have a voice. 

I want to share with you what I said: 

I count it an esteemed honor, privilege and pleasure to stand before you today. I stand before you in the spirit of humility, yet I am overjoyed to share with you my belief that there is promise within the concept of power.  The word “promise” signifies that there is hope. I thank Ebony Magazine for seeing that there really is hope for today’s youth, the leaders of tomorrow. My favorite quote is, “10 percent of youth today will lead 90 percent of youth tomorrow”. I want to lead that 10 percent.

And so, I agree with Whitney Houston when she said that the children ARE our future. We SHOULD be taught well so that we can lead the way. As early as 9 years old, I dared to dream of a city where I could walk to the store without seeing my peers handcuffed. I dared to imagine turning on my TV and seeing images of people I could look up to. I needed to receive a quality education in my neighborhood. I decided then that I could not afford to wait to be great! I decided then that I had a voice and I would need to work to let the world and other youth know a simple secret: “Be great NOW!” For this would be the key to ending poor education, youth violence and inequality. For this would be the power that would one day be an integral part of my life.

And so here I am five years later at the tender age of 14. I am happy to say that it’s never too late to embrace the power that lives within us. But just what is that power? Allow me share an abbreviated roll call. You see, it is the power that allowed a teen like Tony Hansberry, who, at age 14 developed an improved surgical technique for hysterectomy patients. It is the power that enabled Steven Stafford to attend Morehouse College at the age of very young age of 12. It is the power that gave Jonathon McCoy the courage and fortitude to abolish the N-word at the age of 10. It is the power that encouraged 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai to serve as a peace activist.  It is the power that caused Gabby Douglas to hurl her way all the way to the status of Olympic gold medalist at the impressive age of 16. And it’s the same power that allowed a little girl whose mom nicknamed her “her bumblebee” to lead this nation as National Youth Director for National Action Network.

If you haven’t guessed it already, that mother’s bumblebee is yours truly. Now, I know you are thinking, “Why a bumblebee?” They are not particularly cute and can be dangerous. She calls me her bumblebee because in theory, a bumblebee should not fly. According to the principles of aerodynamics, the bumblebee is big, fuzzy and powered only by tiny wings. Therefore, they shouldn’t leave the ground.
So how does the bumblebee do it? Bumblebees beat their wings up to 200 times a second, faster so that their nerve impulses to their muscles can fire. If you want youth to be the best they can be you must encourage us as soon as we can speak and walk on our own.

In other words, we don’t have to wait to be great.  We don’t have to wait to embrace our power. Today’s people must understand that we are all have a calling a gift a talent, and we must learn to listen to the calling within.  Oh yes, there is promise of power, but we will never tap into it if we wait to use what’s waiting to be shared with the world. So, if our purpose or our power is to write, then write!  If it is to sing, then sing! If it is to teach, lead or preach, do it!  Anything else would be a waste of life.

I know my purpose and I know our power. They are one in the same: to inspire others while being that voice for those that feel they have no voice. See, it doesn’t matter where you’ve come from or what you’ve been through. If you come from a single parent home, if you were on drugs, involved in gang violence or any other issue, you need to know that you still can be great. I know how hard it is but, today people must take out the word impossible and replace it with words like “achievable, believable, obtainable, possible.” 

Thomas Edison once said that genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. And that’s okay, because in the end, we will find ourselves being all the better as a result. Thank you, Ebony Magazine, for inspiring us to realize and embrace the promise of power. I’m grateful for where I’ve been and where God is taking me.  Through the promise of power, I will see those who dare to embrace the promise of power at the top.

-MaryPat Hector

Marypat Hector is a young lady from Atlanta, Georgia and fully intends to change the world through her motivational speaking and grassroots movements. She is truly a young leader for our generation.