It’s never too early to try and change the world. As a young person, we’re engrained with so much enthusiasm and gusto that we can change the world. Just ask your niece or nephew what they want to be when they grow up for instance. Unfortunately for some of us, when we’re faced with the realistic hurdles that life presents at us, we rationalize and shrink our power. Being practical about our goals is not a bad thing. Keeping in mind that the higher we aim, the higher standard that we hold ourselves to, means remarkable growth within. As we enrich ourselves, we’ll come into contact with better opportunities and better people that can help all of us leave our own kind of impact on the world. Here are 10 inspirational stories of young people who have left their mark on the world:

Kelvin Doe (Sierra Leone)

At the age of 13, Kelvin was looking for ways to help his community. By taking recyclable parts like battery acid, soda and metal, he found ways to power his neighborhood. Kelvin then went on to build a radio station in his city out of reusable metals.

Bana Al- Abad (Syria)

At just the age of 7, this brave young girl began documenting the issues of her country on her social media page. She used the platform as a means to shed light to the atrocities happening there. With help from her mother, Abed has called on world leaders to take action.

Katie Stagliano (United States of America)

In the third grade, Katie was inspired to help feed the homeless in her city. She grew a huge cabbage plant that fed nearly three hundred people at a local soup kitchen. She turned this into her own non-profit, Katie’s Krops, which builds vegetable gardens to donate food to the homeless.

Yash Gupta (India)

After breaking a pair of his eyeglasses and having to wait a week for a replacement pair, Gupta was inspired to start his Sight Learning organization, which helps kids in need by delivering eyewear to their houses. All before his 16th birthday, Slight Learning has given nearly $2 million dollars worth of eyewear in places like Haiti, India, Mexico and Honduras.

Louise Braille (French)

At 12, Braille learned of a communication used by the French army, which led to his own namesake language; used as a way for blind people to talk and write to one another. He finished the Braille alphabet by the age of 15.