STANDING UP: What are the risks and rewards?

15th March, 2018    |    By  Project Rockit    |     1.5k

n our final episode, Danai and Ro reflect on the risks and the rewards of standing up for what you believe in at different times in life.

  1. 1What has held you back from standing up for matters to you?
  2. When it comes to standing up, how do the people around us influence are decision to say something or stay quiet?
  3. Can you think of a time when you stood up for mattered to you and it went really well? Spill!

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Bullying Cyberbullying

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STANDING UP: What are the risks and rewards?

Hey guys! So, standing up for what you believe in is the best feeling ever. There’s no doubt about it, but it can be pretty scary. Today, we’re going to be talking about the risks and the rewards of speaking out, and we are so lucky to have on set with us a really good friend of Project Rockit, Danae. Welcome to Project Rockit TV! Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Well, I’m 17 years old and I currently go to Frankston High School. Since I was a really little kid, I’ve always been passionate about social justice, and that’s probably why when my sister and I finished high school, like 11 years ago now, we decided to start Project Rockit. Basically, we saw how much bullying just totally sucked. It robbed our peers of their potential and their opportunities, and we just looked around and saw that no one was doing anything about it in a way that actually reached young people. So, yeah, we just decided to give it a crack and Project Rockit was born.

So, that’s me. But what lights your fire?

I think that my biggest passion is definitely being able to provide representation and justice for minority and marginalized groups. Empowering other people helps me be empowered to do better as well.

Okay, the most challenging part of standing up for me over the years would be my self-confidence, which I know comes as a bit of a surprise to people because I’m kind of extroverted and people just think I have oodles of confidence. But over the years, starting Project Rockit, I’ve just had self-doubt. I guess the biggest challenge for me is being able to quiet that little voice that tells me I can’t, and instead just really pushing myself out of my comfort zone to challenge myself to stand up. I’m still battling with self-confidence, but it’s getting better.

What about you? What’s your biggest challenge?

I think definitely my biggest challenge would have to be other people’s perceptions. I’m very wary of people thinking or people saying things. Because that’s cool, I’ve been nicknamed the “social justice warrior,” so it’s like whenever I’m speaking out on an issue that everyone should be talking about, there’s always someone saying, “Oh, here she goes again, of course it’s Danae speaking.” They kind of have that expectancy.

So how do you put those voices aside? Because it’s one thing to say, “I’m just not going to listen to them,” but it’s kind of hard at school when those voices feel so loud.

At the end of the day, I kind of think of it as like, we’re the drivers of our own lives and they’re just the passengers. To get to our destination, we have to follow our own directions. We can’t be following someone else’s directions.

For me, the biggest reward is when your action actually inspires other people to stand up, too, which really is social change, right? It takes one person to stand up, for others to do the same, and I reckon that’s the biggest reward ever.

What about you? What is the biggest reward for you?

I think for me personally, my biggest reward is so hard to put into words, but it’s like doing things is never about me. It’s never for self-interest or self-reward or to receive a recognition. It’s about being able to empower others. Like what you were saying, inspiring others, and it’s just the best feeling. I can’t even put it into words or fathom how grateful I feel when someone else feels that they, too, now have a voice.

Well, guys, it just goes to show that it doesn’t matter how you stand up. It doesn’t matter whether it’s big or tiny. Standing up for what you believe in, standing up for what matters, actually makes you feel like you matter. So, don’t get it twisted.

Video by Project Rockit