Seven months ago, students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School led a crowd of approximately one million people calling for an end to gun violence in the epic March for Our Lives.

Their movement took over the internet, it took over social media, it took over the news cycle. And that was just the beginning.

On October 16^th, those voices are gathering again, in stunning first-hand accounts of their experiences as students, survivors, and activists: Glimmer of Hope. 

Enough from us, it’s time to hear from these amazing people in their own words:

1. Anyone can shake the world up.

“I still feel like a small kid in a small town. But these nobodies, we’re the ones who were able to get one of the most historic marches to happen.”

-John Barnitt

2. We can’t ignore problems and expect them to go away.

“Imagine getting in a plane crash and then having to get on that same plane every day without fixing the problem that caused the plane to crash in the first place.”

-David Hogg

3. Anger is never enough.

“We were told in the early days of everything . . . that we could not sustain this movement on anger alone. We needed to find joy, we needed to love one another, even the people we had previously hated.”

-Emma González

4. Sometimes strength is found in vulnerable places.

“This all came from a place of helplessness. It was in overcoming that helplessness that we found our strength, and we want to provide our country with the opportunity to not be helpless as well.”

-Cameron Kasky

5. A call to action can make a big difference.

“People in America need a specific task or they won’t do anything.”

-Sofie Whitney

6. So, it’s pretty great that technology is on our side.

“Courageous young people throughout history have yelled so loud that it turned the country upside down . . . our rally cry is heard far from beyond the streets. Our rally cry is live-streamed, posted, shared, sent, retweeted, and heard all around the world in no time at all.”

-John Barnitt, Sarah Chadwick, & Sofie Whitney

7. Peaceful does not mean silent.

“Welcome to the revolution. It is a powerful and peaceful one because it is of, by, and for the young people of this country.”

-Cameron Kasky

8. We will not be divided.

“They will try to separate us in demographics. They will try to separate us by religion, race, congressional district, and class. They will fail. We will come together.”

-David Hogg

9. Because we are all affected.

“It shouldn’t be a Democratic or Republican ideology to want to save lives.”

-Jaclyn Corin

10. Because change is necessary.

“I have been to too many funerals for children.”

-Matt Deitsch

11. Because this is just the beginning.

“It’s for every person who has gone through anything similar to this, for every person who hasn’t yet, for every person who never will. This isn’t something we are ever going to forget about; this isn’t something we are ever going to give up on.”

-Emma González

12. It will be here as long as necessary

“We don’t want the March for Our Lives to exist, we want this organization to complete a mission and render itself obsolete.”

-Matt Deitsch

13. And there are great things to come.

“In the end, we are all fighting for our lives. But we are a great generation and will be the ones to make America safe.”

-Jaclyn Corin

14. The future is up to us.

“As you make your way to the polls please don’t just vote red or blue,

but vote for our friends who will never get the chance to.”

-Lauren Hogg and Sam Deitsch