As I entered the Capitol, I hoped my facial expression came across as someone with a goal instead of just someone with the intention of being a tourist of the building.

As a student journalist who has never interviewed anyone above the level of a college dean, walking into the beautiful Capitol Building in Lansing to interview Kevin Cotter, the Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives, left me shaking in my admittedly under-dressed boots.

Happy with being a partner at the Kerr Law Firm, PLLC in downtown Mount Pleasant, Kevin Cotter had no interest in running for office until he realized many students he talked to weren’t even considering Michigan as an option after graduation.

It wasn’t until a family member graduated from Central Michigan University and could only find a job in Florida that it finally clicked. He thought about his own family attending college in 20 years.

His future family in mind, he decided to stop complaining about politics and get involved instead. As someone double majoring in political science and journalism, his sudden decision to get involved and make a change struck a cord with me.

Cotter admitted to seeing our generation as one more involved than those previous. This is something I’ve rarely heard from those not part of my generation and, for some people, something I don’t hear from people my age.

Social media has become an outlet for young adults to raise awareness on issues ranging from foreign affairs to social justice issues. An avid reader of the news, I’ve learned about issues that the media may be ignoring. I watched as my peers tweeted about the Chapel Hill shooting before news outlets reported it. My timeline quickly became full of the hashtags #chapelhillshooting and #MuslimLivesMatter, prompting further research to see what had happened.

The lesson I learned by visiting the Capitol is that not only should I not be intimidated by those who had once been in my underdressed shoes, but that our generation isn’t hopeless. While we may not storm the streets as often as our grandparents did, we raise our voices in the place where everyone from our fellow students are our distant family members to random bloggers can hear them: the Internet.

Despite some misconceptions that I’ve heard, we don’t just complain about the issues to our friends. We post about them on our social media outlets to our hundreds of followers and cite sources to actually inform and educate those who read the posts. We sign petitions and raise money for causes we care about.

Protests still occur, as seen by the Ferguson protests that are still ongoing, but using the Internet is a timely and efficient way to get the word out and our unhappiness known until action can be taken.

Once the interview with Cotter concluded and hands were shaken, our Central Michigan Life team walked around the building. As I looked down at the chairs Senators sat in during sessions and walked past business people in expensive suits who gave polite smiles as they passed by, I realized they were all like Cotter, who had once been like me, a college student intimidated and amazed by their work and building.

A few discreet selfies later, we left the Capitol and headed home. As we did, a new outlook on those who work in high positions formed in my mind.