The recent affairs in Pakistan relating to the courageous young girl Malala Yousafzai have absolutely amazed me. Her bold demonstrations in support of female education are inspiring and remind me of how truly important and valuable education is.

Today, so many kids take their free education for granted, often not caring about the great gift they have been given, and I see this on a daily basis as a high school senior. Many students in the U.S. don’t even realize how lucky we are to receive something as precious as an education, where all we have to do is get in our cars and go to school for seven hours at a time, while kids in other countries would walk miles and do whatever they could to get a chance at going to school.

I believe that the students of our country need to take a better look into their lives and the world around us to get a better appreciation for knowledge. Like the 15-year-old who, by knowingly endangering her life, proudly took her stand for education, kids today should also make the effort to support and enhance our school system.