"Dare to know! Have courage to use your own reason!"

I think that many people are brought up from the start with a poor self-image, and this impacts their entire future. When people are more confident about themselves they are also usually more confident in saying their opinion and I believe that this makes a tremendous difference in "having courage to use your own reason". Another obstacle to using your own reason is also that people are scared to know certain things, because they are scared that a changed/altered knowledge will change something in their life, maybe something they enjoy. They are scared that by knowing something, something is taken away from them and they are scared of being challenged. Some people are lazy and are unwilling to make an effort for the better, they would rather stick to their bad habits and inadequate routines. That's what I think "Dare to know!" means.
When I lived in Jakarta and I went to 8th grade, I was given an optional application for a GIN (Global Issues Network - http://global-issues-network.org) conference. I was really interested in doing this because I believed that the community service clubs at school did not really make the difference I wanted to make and thought was necessary. It wasn't just a fictional story, it was about real life - people all around me and myself are affected by the problems they would be discussing in this conference. I also love bringing forth discussion with other people and talking to them about what solution they would think of, and what their perspective was in general. However, once I got home and showed my parents this form, we discussed that the trip would be too expensive - we would not be able to afford it. I was quite upset, I thought the whole situation was unfair. Why would someone that is willing to work, wanting to help and ready to think not be allowed to join? Only because of their "wealth status"? That just didn't seem right to me. However, my parents encouraged me to write a letter to my teacher. Among other things I wrote: "If JIS wants good representatives, I think that everyone should have the same chances. Many students at JIS would like to take part in GIN but when they figure out that they have to pay 1,300$ - they back away." This is not only not giving everybody an equal opportunity but also not using the talents the school as available to them. The school should choose people by their ability not by their wealth." I think we should find a solution so that many people can work with the ideas the GIN conference is raising, without having to pay that amount of money. This really is how we are going to start solving global issues, if many people are willing to contribute. This is exactly what we have, we have people that are willing, but not able to." When I gave my teacher the letter she said "I have talked to the other teachers and we all think you have a good idea here. Maybe we can work on this for the years to come." Even though this was not the response I had hoped for, and I may not have been successful, I am glad I tried to tell them my opinion, and make a small change that could contribute to a bigger one - one that doesn't revolve around me, but around everyone. It took a lot of courage for me, but that makes me all the more happy that I overcame that and at least tried. I really do hope that they have thought about this, because I think they could get amazing ideas that will never be revealed if they don't made that change.

As they say, "a small step in a good direction".