Sienna Miller | Head Editor
May 23, 2025
On the streets of urban life and in the quiet corners of far-off villages in underdeveloped countries, children and adolescents are born with one unifying human aspiration: to grow. Their hearts long the same as ours, to acquire, to prosper, and to realize their own true selves and identity. And in the midst of life’s relentless pace, filled with career pressures, responsibilities, and constant noise, people often lose sight of what truly matters: purpose, connection, and the quiet pursuit of meaning. But for millions, an arbitrary circumstance of birthplace defines the parameters of that possibility.
Over 700 million people in developing nations survive on less than $2.15 per day, according to the World Bank. They are not just figures, these are the dreams of young children who will never learn within the walls of a classroom, never feel the pages of a book between their fingers, and never get a chance to look for something beyond mere existence. Their human potential is never lost, only never given the chance to take hold.
“We watched a video in my global politics class called ‘Living on One Dollar‘ which is a documentary about college students who traveled to an underdeveloped country and tried to make ends meet,” senior Natalie Garcia said. “The students talked to real people who are unable to attend school because they have to work on farming so they can survive and eat. I recommend the documentary to everyone who hasn’t yet seen it. These people still have dreams like being a nurse but will never be able to achieve them.”
This sad reality extends beyond borders. Here in America, a country so often deemed full of promise and opportunity is still unevenly distributed. Structural inequality persists along racial, socioeconomic, sexual, and gender lines. Communities of color consistently experience underfunded schools, cycles of poverty that endure for generations, and institutionalized racism. LGBTQ+ youth experience disproportionate rates of homelessness and mental illness. These are not isolated issues; they are embedded systemic failures that limit the promise of hundreds of thousands of adolescents to flourish.
“As a Hispanic woman, I grapple with discrimination affecting my education while also battling to afford college and my future education,” senior Elora Aguilar said. “My dreams are harder to achieve than most of my peers but I will never stop fighting for my education and future. Because of my conviction, I will be attending UC Riverside.”
To be clear, hardship knows no boundaries. Even those who are privileged with being born into good circumstances grapple with their own personal pressures, expectations, political tensions, and invisible challenges that often prevent those from reaching their full potential. But despite our different experiences, our shared human aspiration is this: to know who we are and to be the best we can be. That journey must not be a privilege for some as it is now, it must be a birthright for all. A society that stifles talent through poverty, prejudice, or mere indifference will never fulfill its own.
This is why opportunity is sacred. Not as a stepping stone to financial success, but as the necessary catalyst to personal growth and self-definition. Not all children will pursue the same aspirations, but all children should be able to make the choice.
We have been blessed here at San Clemente High School. No matter where we started, we were provided with education, community, and the resources to grow intellectually, emotionally, and ethically. These high school years have not just readied us for college and careers, but have formed the very bases of who we are. Let us not forget that to come to this institution, each day and learn in freedom is an uncommon privilege.
As we, the Class of 2025, prepare to leave the familiar halls of San Clemente and step into a world of possibility and challenge, we are now called to service. We must not carry our diplomas as symbols of personal achievement in and of themselves, but as rays of possibility intended to be passed on, amplified, and communicated.
We must be not only architects of our own fate but also champions of other people’s. In whichever careers we opt whether its in medicine, the arts, technology, education, public service, let us remember those whose voices remain unheard until they are lifted by ours, and whose talents have yet to shine because the world has not yet made room for them. We must make it our duty to raise up, to empower, and to make the privilege that we possess not expire with us.
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