Covid. Climate change. Social justice. It’s exhausting living in today’s society, so much so that the default emotion for everyone is apathy. Believe me, I understand: it’s emotionally draining to put yourself into even one cause, and even when you do, there is the guilt of not being able to care about every single issue in the world at the same time. This is known as activist burnout. Social media likes to tell you that if you don’t constantly repost pretty infographics, you aren’t being a good member of society, so a lot of people protect themselves with the emotion that whatever they do, it doesn’t matter. They think that just a small action could never make a true difference in the world, but that isn’t true. There is so much power in collective action. Joining a club like Empowered Club, GSA, or Environmental Club, talking to your friends about social issues, showing support to someone: it does matter. The power to make a difference starts on an individual level, but it shouldn’t feel like a burden of responsibility. Each chance that someone gets to make change should be seen as an opportunity, and the fact that they choose to take that opportunity matters. A lot.