By Maya Shah, Photography Editor
Motivation. Empowerment. Discovery. These are some of the topics senior Unnati Gupta talks about in her recently published book, “Opportunity Day.” Throughout the book, Gupta uplifts the voices of young people, also known as Generation Z.
The book, which is now sold on Amazon, is divided into different sections, each addressing a different topic or issue. At the end of each chapter, Gupta brings back each issue to solve that problem and analyzes what positive result can come from it. In addition to adding her own personal experiences, Gupta talked to leading generational researchers, read peer review articles and interviewed many experts to make her book well-informed.
“I really tried to let a lot of the small stories that I might have passed over as maybe insignificant, and use those to guide the message that I was trying to convey,” Gupta said.
For Gupta, the process started about a year ago when she was approached by The Creators Institute, an organization that encourages individuals to start creating their own writing projects. Although Gupta did not feel like she had any extraordinary moments to share, she quickly learned that the best stories come from what you’ve experienced.
“I’m a pretty normal teenager,” Gupta said. “I’ve had a lot of random experiences that I’m sure other people can relate to, and that kind of got me thinking what if all these little experiences can amount to a much larger message.”
TedxStoga advisor Claire Miller, who has had the opportunity to work closely with Unnati through club activities, explains why the subject matter is important.
“Gen Z holds so many answers that other generations truly don’t hold. They can’t see the solutions that Gen Z can from their unique life experiences and unique perspectives as young people,” Miller said.
Although Gupta never saw herself as a professional writer, this book offered her an opportunity to challenge herself. However, a lot of her struggles came from getting the initial ideas and structure put together, as she knew what she wanted to say but not the best way to say it. With time, guidance from her publisher, and lots of ideas, she was able to submit her completed manuscript. Miller says that Gupta’s strong character outside of writing lends itself well to this kind of process.
“She’s a phenomenal leader in her own right and she’s just such a natural listener and connector of people; she listens really deeply and then shares powerful ideas,” Miller said.
Previous to the publishing of her book, Gupta launched an online campaign to gather funds to promote her book. This process consisted largely of calling family and friends and asking for any kind of support they could offer, as well as advertising on social media.
“I really tried to just call as many people as I could and let them know that this was happening and give them the option of supporting me if they’d like,” Gupta said. “Thankfully, I was able to get a lot of support from them.”
Ultimately, Gupta hopes that this book will reach people of all ages and inspire Gen Z to empower their own voices.
“People in our generation often get stuck in the idea phase,” Gupta said. “I think the one big message that I’m trying to convey is that at the end of the day if you want to make an impact, you simply have to act.”
Maya Shah can be reached at [email protected].
