Malala Yousafzai is a 17-year-old girl, and after this year, is the youngest person to ever be nominated for or receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Yousafzai cares deeply about her education and the importance of the education in girls across the globe, so much so that she risked her life multiple times to go to school. Yet here at Iowa State, we struggle to get out of bed for our 8 a.m.s every day.

Yousafzai attended a school her father founded in Pakistan. Yousafzai did not stop at just being allowed to attend school — she wanted all girls to be allowed to go to school and she disagreed with the Taliban being able to dictate who went to school and who did not. In 2009 she began blogging for BBC about how the Taliban was taking away her rights to education, until she was found out in December of that year. It was then that the Taliban decided to come after her.

Yousafzai was only 14 years old when her life was threatened by the Taliban. On Oct. 9 2012, while Malala was on the bus to go home, a man that was part of the Taliban boarded and demanded to know which girl on the bus was her. When Malala’s location on the bus was revealed, Yousafzai was shot in the head. The gunshot did not kill Yousafzai, and she did not stop on her journey to fight for education.

In an interview with Jon Stewart on the Daily Show, Yousafzai left Stewart speechless after telling him that when the Taliban came for her, her first instinct would be to hit him with a shoe, but that using violence against her enemy would not make her any better than them. Yousafzai knew that she needed to fight them with knowledge.

Yousafzai is still fighting for equality in education in the Middle East and shows no signs of stopping until the battle is won. The first time hearing about Yousafzai’s experiences is humbling. Just imagine someone so passionate about education, that even after her life was threatened, she still is preserving and continues to work for an education.

In the United States, education is something that, in grade school at least, students are legally required to attend. We attend high school and are lucky enough to be able to choose the college we want to go to without being discriminated against because of ethnicity or gender. Yet every day, many of us are taking advantage of how easy it was for us to attend school.

While we were worried about getting through the college entrance exam, girls in Swat district of Pakistan— the place where Yousafzai attended school— are worried about if they will be able to get into class the next day or if there will be someone with a gun telling them they are not allowed in class.

While many students at Iowa State treasure their education, there are still students that do not utilize what they have to the fullest. Skipping class is a perfect example. Some students on this campus skip class. When you put it into perspective with children in the Middle East and in other countries that fight everyday to be able to go to school, it seems like we are abusing the great opportunities we have available to us. We are lucky enough to live in a country where we can go to class without someone telling us we are not allowed to be there — in fact, we are encouraged to attend.

Yousafzai continues to fight for education in the Middle East. Do not sit around and waste the education that, compared to Yousafzai, has come so easily to you. Think before you skip class or choose not to turn in a homework assignment, and think about the people who would love to be in your place; who risk their lives everyday for the power of knowledge. 

Education and knowledge are two of the world’s most powerful tools. Don’t throw yours away when so many other people would do anything in the world to take your place.