Let us pick up our books and pencils. They are our most powerful weapon.

Let us become the first generation to decide to be the last that sees empty classrooms, lost childhoods and wasted potential

We felt like the Taliban saw us as little dolls to control, telling us what to do and how to dress. I thought if God wanted us to be like that He wouldn't have made us all different.

When someone tells me about Malala, the girl who was shot by the Taliban - that's my definition for her - I don't think she's me. Now I don't even feel as if I was shot. Even my life in Swat feels like a part of history or a movie I watched. Things change. God has given us a brain and a heart which tell us how to live.

Malala Day is not my day. Today is the day of every woman, every boy and every girl who have raised their voice for their rights.

My dream is to see every girl educated, in every country.

I reassured my mother that it didn’t matter to me if my face was not symmetrical. Me, who had always cared about my appearance, how my hair looked! But when you see death, things change. “It doesn’t matter if I can’t smile or blink properly,” I told her. “I’m still me, Malala. The important thing is God has given me my life.