What Gives Me Hope About the Next Generation | A Conversation with Sydney Moore

One of the most beautiful forms of hope arrives in shape of young people destined to make their mark on the world in a powerful way. This conversation shares just that form of hope.

This week on Hope Comes to Visit, I sat down with someone incredibly special to me — Sydney Moore, a high school senior at St. Joseph’s Academy in St. Louis who has spent her young life rooted in service, justice, learning, and compassion.

I have known Sydney since she was just a little girl, and this conversation is both deeply personal and deeply inspiring. Sydney shares her heart for social justice, her desire to become a human rights attorney, and the experiences that have shaped the way she sees the world — from interning with a judge to traveling to the border to learning how to listen before trying to lead.

In this episode, we talk about:

• what gives me hope about the next generation
• how confidence is shaped by the people who believe in us
• why teenagers are more thoughtful, engaged, and justice-minded than many people assume
• what it means to lead without needing to be the loudest person in the room
• how burnout, pressure, and perfectionism show up even in young leaders
• why real change begins with listening, learning, and walking alongside others
• how hope is tied to love, accountability, and the belief that things can be better

Sydney is the kind of young woman who reminds us that the future is not lost. It is being shaped, every day, by people willing to learn, question, serve, and care deeply.

This episode is full of wisdom, heart, and the kind of hope that stretches across generations.

If it moves you, please share it with someone you love.

00:00 Welcome to Hope Comes to Visit
01:49 Sydney Moore on wanting to become a human rights attorney
03:47 What gives Danielle hope about the next generation
06:10 Social media stereotypes vs. who young people really are
11:11 Family influence, confidence, and believing in yourself
16:12 Advice for teens who want to make a difference
19:31 Burnout, pressure, and panic in high school
24:23 Learning when to say yes — and when to say no
26:12 Sydney’s definition of hope
27:37 Does she have hope for America?
30:59 Amanda Gorman, patriotism, and holding the country accountable
34:52 The border trip that changed everything
39:59 Why solidarity matters more than “saving” people
41:23 Danielle on why Sydney gives her hope

Thank you for listening to Hope Comes to Visit. If this conversation helps, follow the show, share it with someone who needs hope today, and leave a review - it helps others find their way to these conversations.

New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit

Transcript

elief Builds The Future

Sydney Moore 0:00

I'm a huge believer in self-fulfilling prophecy, like this idea of like, if you think that you can do it, then you can do it. And if you think that you can't do it, then you're not gonna do it. But I think that a lot of your belief in your ability to do something comes from people saying, wow, like, you know, you're really good at this, or you're really smart, or you're really good at writing, or you're a really great orator, right? Like, I think that, I think that I've had so many people look me in the eye from a young age and say, Wow, like you can do anything that you want to do, that I've been motivated to do anything that I want to do.

eet Sydney And Her Mission

Danielle Elliott Smith 0:42

Let's take a quick moment to thank the people that support and sponsor the podcast. When life takes an unexpected turn, you deserve someone who will stand beside you. St. Louis attorney Chris Duly offers experienced one-on-one legal defense. Call 314-384-4000 or 314-DUI Help. Or you can visit Dulilawfirm.com. That's D-U-L-L-E Law Firm.com for a free consultation. Welcome to Hope Comes to Visit. I'm Danielle Elliott Smith. This is more than a podcast. It's a gathering place. It's for stories that stretch us, conversations that ground us, and hopefully, hope that meets you exactly where you are. Thank you so much for being here. I'm excited you are here. Let's dive in. Today's guest is someone who is incredibly special to me. I have known Sydney more since she was just three or four years old. And having the privilege of sitting across from her today, knowing that she has grown into this remarkable young woman is a privilege and a gift. Gosh, it actually gives me chills. Sydney is a high school senior at St. Joseph's Academy here in St. Louis. She is deeply devoted to her family, especially her mom Jessica, her dad Dee, and of course her brother David. She's going to give me a hard time for that later. And she's already living out a life rooted in service, compassion, and justice. From interning with a judge, traveling to the border, or showing up for her local community when there is a crisis, she isn't just talking about making a difference, she's living it. Sydney plans to study global affairs and pursue a career as a human rights attorney. And I have no doubt, as I have known since she was an itty bitty little girl, that she is going to leave a meaningful mark on this world. Sydney, I am so proud of you and so grateful that you have finally found time in your schedule to sit down with me. Thank you for being here.

Sydney Moore 2:36

Absolutely, of course. I'm just so grateful to you for, you know, making it happen, especially since we went through so many scheduling. So I'm just so, I'm so grateful.

Danielle Elliott Smith 2:46

Well, your schedule is packed. I mean, being a high school senior is one thing, but I said in the introduction, right? I I want to say that since you were six, seven, eight years old, I kept thinking this little girl is going to change the world. And that depth of faith in you has done nothing but increase as I have watched you continue to grow. Tell me where do you want to go with your career and what is that desire and determination rooted in?

hoosing Service Over Status

Sydney Moore 3:24

Well, um, it's really funny because my dad really wants me to, you know, go to Wall Street and make a lot of money as like a corporate attorney or something like that. Which you could do. I could. I could do it. Um, but I um I think that for me, I've always had this understanding of the world where in my head I was just like, why would I do anything if I'm if I'm not helping others? Why would I not, why would I do anything if it's not an opportunity for me to learn? Like I'm a I'm a lifelong student, is how I like to think of it. And um I've always known that like no matter what, no matter what career path I went down, like I would always do something that allowed me to immerse myself fully in others. And so um from there I just knew that um for now at least I want to be a human rights attorney. And if I go to college and decide that that changes, then I'm always open to you know changing the path a little bit. But for now, the goal for me would be to, you know, travel abroad, maybe um, maybe work in an embassy, maybe work with an NGO, something like that, um, or maybe stay local and work as an immigration attorney. Um I I just know I know that um my paths are kind of like all over the place, but my goal is just to make sure that I'm doing something that allows me to learn from other people and um serve in some capacity.

Danielle Elliott Smith 4:44

See, this is what's so interesting is that I'm listening to you, and I you in many ways are so aligned with where I was at your age. I don't know if you know this, but one of the first things I ever wanted to do was be a civil rights attorney and I wanted to work for Morris D's. And it's then I'm I moved into a journalism capacity because I wanted to tell stories, but I've always, much like you, been deeply rooted in wanting to be immersed in making the world a better place. And I wanted to have you on here because, and this gives me chills too. You are what looks like hope to me. I look at you and I think you are hope for this next generation of what is coming. And knowing that there are young people like you who look at the world and think, how can I help? What can I do to make this life, this world a better place? Gosh, it fills my heart so deeply.

ocial Media Versus Real Motivation

Sydney Moore 5:48

Thank you so much. Honestly, um, I have a lot of friends and like just throughout all of the, you know, traveling I've done and the programs I've done and the people I've worked with, I um I feel that way about like the other teenagers who I know who are like me. Um, and even the ones who aren't like me. Um, I I really love the one, I really love people, I guess, who who are willing to sit down and challenge themselves. And I feel like those are the people who we really need out there, you know, the ones who are asking the questions, the ones who are willing to expand their worldview a little bit, especially since, you know, we're all children right now. And personally, I know that for a long time I always felt like I just, you know, follow whatever my parents, you know, told me to do or follow whatever my parents um influenced me to think. But um, the older I've gotten and the more that I've formed my own worldview and the more that I've been surrounded by other people who are doing the same, um, I've recognized a lot of hope in our future generation as well. Just because I I know that the people, I know that, I know that the other teenagers like me, like we're all, we're all just trying to do our best, trying to learn and trying to go out there and you know, do whatever it takes to kind of learn and help. And so I'm really, I'm really grateful to my generation as well. Does that sound vain to say I love my own? Not at all.

Danielle Elliott Smith 7:08

No, but that sounds life-giving to me. So my next question is are there a lot of other lifelong learners, hope givers out there in your generation? Do you do you meet a lot of other teenagers who want to make a difference? Because I think that in in the world of social media, we see a lot of vanity that is uh that feels very shallow, right? Uh, and I think that's all just surface. You know, we meet a lot of people or we see a lot of people who think I would like to be an influencer when I grow up. And I'd like to just make a lot of money doing very, very little as compared to how can I make the world a better place? And that feels that's a very broad spectrum, just kind of throwing it out there. But I think that I would like to believe there are a lot more of you out there.

Sydney Moore 8:05

Oh my, I totally understand. I'm actually so glad that you um brought that up because I really do think that social media kind of has been um this like downfall a little bit of the way that we view other people because it kind of um shields us a little bit from that authenticity, you know, that um that like raw human interaction that just allows you to really get to know people. Um and I especially, I especially feel like my generation, um, and not that we don't contribute greatly to this problem, um, but we, you know, I feel like we get a lot of brunt, especially on social media or like from older generations um who think, you know, like we're like lazy or our minds are rotted out and like we're just not, you know, um, like we just don't care about things that, you know, other generations used to care about. And I um I just think, you know, in my first hand interactions, even with like the girls at my high school, because I I go to an all-girls school, um, which is, you know, I think that's given me a lot actually being at an all-girls school because that's a space where you're surrounded entirely by um women motivating women to, you know, be better. And I have just seen, I've seen firsthand like some of the most incredible teenagers who who, you know, and I'm saying this again, there are plenty of people who, you know, our visions for the world aren't the same. Like plenty of friends of mine are plenty of people who I know, and it's like we don't, we don't have the same alignment on what the world should look like or how we should get there. But we're both, we're all really motivated. We're all really highly motivated, you know. And we commit ourselves, we commit ourselves to learning, hold each other accountable. And I think that that's especially the beauty of my generation and kind of kind of the you know, good and bad side of social media, um, we're able to hold each other accountable a lot more because we kind of always kind of see what we're all doing. And so just even in my school, I've seen a lot of teenagers like me who are dedicated to learning and dedicated to, you know, serving the world in some way. And then even in the like experiences I've had, um, I um participate actually, um, I just graduated from a fellowship through this organization called Lead STL, and it is literally dedicated to teens um learning about social justice. So we learn about it from a black and a Jewish perspective and um the perspective of several other like allies throughout history. But um just as a group of teens, like we are just seriously the most like outspoken, um like kind. Um we're kind of we get a little bit heated sometimes, and I think that that's always you know good for us. It helps us grow with each other. But um I feel like I've been surrounded by teenagers who are fully dedicated to like going out in the world and um, you know, talking to adults and like really, really holding adults accountable. I really admire that actually a lot about a lot of the teenagers I know. You know, we're we're not just we're not um we're not limited by our age, you know. I think that sometimes we have a tendency to be our age as a handicap, but I'm really proud of the teenagers who I know who have been like, yeah, sure I'm 16, yeah, sure I'm 17, but I mean I've got nothing better to do. Why, why don't I just go down to Congress and you know, complain? You know, like why?

Danielle Elliott Smith 11:33

No, it's fantastic. I'm listening to you and and I in a I feel like I could talk to you for days because I'm so fascinated by so fascinated by and grateful for the courage and the confidence that you are that you have been given, that you are being inspired by, the people you're being surrounded. Where do you think some of this comes from? I mean, I know both of your parents, right? I I know Jess and D. Um did this start at home for you?

here Justice And Confidence Begin

Sydney Moore 12:07

Um my

Speaker 12:08

passion, um, like my passion for social justice or my confidence, like in myself. Both. Um, I would say the social justice passion came actually from my grandma. You know my grandma, Marie. I do. Um, you know, she is such a force. And, you know, she I was just talking about this yesterday because I was at the archdiocese um do working with the Office of Peace and Justice. And, you know, like the director there, we were talking about, you know, how I developed like a like a love for this kind of work. And I just immediately came to me, I was like, it's my grandma. Like it's the way that she, you know, she always told my brother and me to, my brother and I to be the kinds of kids who are, you know, respectful and you know, we follow rules and all the things, but to always um really devote ourselves to equality and to always really care about, you know, she's black. And so for her, a lot of her passion for civil rights and social justice just comes from being black and growing up during the Jim Crow era. And so I feel like for me, like Sunday dinner at my grandma's house always turned into some kind of conversation about a protest that she went to or something that she learned when she was in the military, or book that she read about civil rights. And so that passion for social justice definitely stems from, you know, her. I just I spend so much time with her, and she just she, my grandma has really just become a beacon of light in my life. Um, but as far as like my confidence in myself and the belief in myself to go out there and actually like fight for social justice and to be honest and to do all the things that my grandma says, I just think um, I think I believe in myself because so many people have believed in me. Um, I think that I'm a huge believer in self-fulfilling prophecy, like this idea of like if you think that you can do it, then you can do it. And if you think that you can't do it, then you're not gonna do it. But I think that a lot of your belief in your ability to do something comes from people saying, wow, like, you know, you're really good at this, or you're really smart, or you're really good at writing, or you're a really great orator, right? Like I think that I think that I've had so many people look me in the eye from a young age and say, Wow, like you can do anything that you want to do, that I've been motivated to do anything that I want to do. I think that a lot of people don't always get that opportunity or don't always have that um support system because I've had people, I've had you from my from since my very like like you said, three or four, like I've had you for my whole life pretty much to be able to say to me, like, wow, Sydney, like you're gonna do amazing things one day. And I think that I know way too many people who haven't had somebody in their life say that to them. And I think that that really does make a world of difference in the confidence that you have and also your hope for the future, because like my hope comes from people sell telling me that I can have hope. And I think that that often gets robbed from us.

mall Steps Into Leadership

Danielle Elliott Smith 15:16

Oh, that's so beautiful. I love that. I love I love that you can drill down the idea that so much of our confidence can come from the people around us, which is a really important thing to recognize, right? So that those simple kindnesses that we give to others can be the seeds that people sow into big and beautiful things in their future, right? Just those simple things that you're saying, the the light that you can see in someone, tell them, right? You you see a light in someone. And I've always had a firm belief that if I see something in someone, whether it's beautiful eyes or they look great or I like their smile, or I always say it, whether it's going through the drive-thru or the cashier at the grocery store or the person waiting on us at a restaurant, because you have no idea what type of a day someone's having, right? So do you have the opportunity to flip someone's day? Right. And you are a personification of what it looks like to take all of those small seeds that have been sown in you throughout your lifetime and turn them into this great, big, beautiful life, but without a level of hyperbolic confidence that is you don't want to be the smartest person in the room because you want to keep learning. And even at 53, I want to keep learning, right? I'm learning from you right now. And I love that. I love that. What would you say to teenagers who are a little bit younger than you or who are about your age who are waffling with the idea of having the confidence to speak up for sure.

Sydney Moore 17:23

Um well, first of all, like to any teenager out there, um, if somebody, if somebody hasn't told you this, like you can do it, like you have the ability to do it. Because, like I said, a lot of people were able to tell me for that from a young age, and so that motivated me. And I think that everybody has the capacity to do it. We just aren't reminded enough. And so I would definitely say to teenagers out there, like you're not, um, you're not limited just to what people have told you. Um, but then also on top of that, um, I don't know. I feel like I feel like the easiest thing to do um if you're really like going back and forth between whether or not you wanna you wanna be active or also what kind of leader you want to be, because you don't always have to be like really vocal to be the leader in the room. You can be a leader in the way that you act, you can be a leader in the way that, you know, like maybe you're just the person on the team who's hyping everybody else up, and that is totally just as much of a leader as, you know, the captain is. So I would say, um, I would say, you know, no matter who you are, no matter what, um, like it's always okay to, it's always okay maybe to start in, start with what's right in front of you. You know, like if you're um, this is the method that I use whenever I'm cleaning my room, um, because my room's always a mess. And for me, it's always like, I'll start with this corner of my room, and then I'll work my way over to this corner of my room, and then I'll tackle the really big thing that's been stressing me out about my room, and then I'll go and I'll do this thing, right? It's like um compartmentalizing and saying to yourself, this is a really big thing that is that is really important to me and that I want to do. Um, how can I start it here? You know, so maybe uh your first step towards, you know, combating anti-Semitism in your community is like maybe I'm gonna read a book, right? Maybe I'm gonna read a book about it. Okay, now that I've read this book about it, you know, I'm gonna do a little bit of research about it, and maybe then I'm gonna talk to my friends. I'm gonna talk to, I'm gonna talk to a teacher, right, about maybe something that I've seen happening at my school. And then, you know, maybe I'm gonna start a club, and then maybe I'm gonna have a fundraiser, right? It's like maybe, you know, I think that you can always build on it, you know, and just do like kind of like a yes and like, yes, I've conquered this, and here's what I can do next. And yes, I've done this and and I can do more. Like there's always um, you never have to start out with just like the biggest thing in mind. You can always, um, it sounds very cliche, but it really is just enough to start small and really start within. Like I said, like my first thing that I always do before I tackle anything is like learn about that thing, because that is the first, that's what's going to inform every single thing about how you act about that thing. And so I just think, you know, start small and then you can build on it. Don't overwhelm yourself or you know, burn out by like consuming by tackling too much at once. Like, think what is the smallest thing I can start with and build on that.

urnout Boundaries And Panic Moments

Danielle Elliott Smith 20:27

With all of the things you've done, have you had moments where you felt overwhelmed and you've looked around the world and you thought, wow, I'm one person. Can I can I make the difference I want to make?

Sydney Moore 20:42

Oh my gosh. Like, absolutely. Um, you know, I think that it honestly, a lot of this anxiety came to me recently. Um, you know, just being a senior in high school, it really puts a lot of stuff into perspective, and you feel like you're like in between worlds right now of like I was a kid and I had all this, like I had all this time to figure out my life, and then now I'm sitting here and I'm like 18 years old and I'm I talk to my friends about this all the time, but every single, you know, every single time I see like a like a freshman in high school or like an eighth grader, all I do is like I just feel so old because I'm like, I feel like I'm feel like I'm running out of time to really, you know, experience things. And even though I'm just I'm just 17, like it's not, you know, like the world's not gonna end. But um this past year, I um I had a lot of anxiety. Like I was just honestly, like I was so burnt out and overwhelmed from like giving a hundred I give like a hundred and ten percent for everything that I do. And I'm proud to do it. Um I'm proud to do it and I'm grateful because you know, I I love that I have the ability to, you know, put that much effort into stuff. But um it like destroyed me first semester. It's high, well, it's heavy and it's there's so much.

Danielle Elliott Smith 22:04

You if you give 110 and 110 and 110 and 110, all of a sudden this is zero, right? And you find yourself unable to pour from an empty cup. So what what do you do to take care of you?

Sydney Moore 22:19

Well, you know, like I think that the the first big like moment where this happened, right? Was like, you know, I've obviously I'm I'm a teenager, I'm a girl, like I have meltdowns, right? Like it happens to everybody. But like my first, my first like really, really bad like existential moment was like I was sitting in like the bread co on Highway K. And I was like, you know, doing work, and it was a Sunday evening, and I had an essay do the next day, and I had just come back from like a conference for youth and government at Jeff City, and I was like sitting on my laptop and I was like trying to do my homework, and then all of a sudden it was like I'm staring at like the cursor, and you know how like the cursor will like blink in and out, and it's like the cursor's like blinking. Yep. And I'm like staring at it, and then like I I couldn't breathe. Like I felt it was like an odd and it was like an out-of-body experience. I just felt like this like overwhelming sense of like paralyzation and like sorry, paralysis and like helplessness. And you know, I I like started like tremoring, and you know, I I like got up, I went outside. I was about to call my friend because you know, she's she's like faced a lot of anxiety, and we've like talked about this before, but I I really just wanted to talk to my mom. Like I really just wanted my mom. And um, you know, these really we were just talking about like pouring into other people's cups. Like there were these really nice strangers who were like helping me like navigate this like panic attack in the bread co. And you know, after my mom showed up and she took me home, I just I just like gave her this like look of like I just I can't do this anymore, you know. And it's like she was like, she was worried about me. Like she would she wanted me to like take it down a notch and the and to stop because it gets so exhausting to constantly, you know, to constantly push yourself to do more. And you know, especially, and I know that you're this way too, you know, I'm the kind of person who's always like, oh, like that problem, I can fix it. Another task on my to-do list, I can just do it. You know what I mean? Like I'm always like, I'll always get it done, you know. And I think that it's always scary when you get to that point and you're like, I I can't get I can't get it done. You know, like I physically can't do it. And it's like, it's such a it's such like a humbling moment for somebody like me who's like, I'm just gonna, I'm just gonna go out there. I'm just gonna do it. I'm gonna fix everything and I'm gonna solve, I'm gonna solve all the problems. It's gonna be great. Yes, I can do it. Sure, I can do it.

efining Hope Through Love

Danielle Elliott Smith 24:52

Sure, I can do it. I years ago, I had an aha moment when I was uh on book tour and I a woman said, and it came from a blog post. And but the phrase was, if it's not a hell yeah, it's a no, right? So I started changing things in my life when people would ask me if I wanted to do something professionally or personally. I started to say, is this a hell yeah for me? Like, do I really, really, really want to do this? And if it wasn't, I said no, because I had been saying yes to so many things and spreading myself so thin that the things that I didn't really want to do were the things that I found myself at three o'clock in the morning staring at the cursor, trying to do, curled up in the fetal position, trying to force myself to do because it wasn't in me. I had just said yes because I felt like I had to do everything. So at some point, you will find yourself in the is it a hell yeah or is it a no? If it's not a hell yeah, it's gotta be a no. Because now, moving into adulthood, you get to narrow down the things that really make you sing, really make your heart feel like it's in the right place and light you up. And then you get to say, that's not necessarily for me. I mean, in the beginning, you were listing off so many of the things that are interesting to you. Right now, you do still get to try out. You're it's like trying on different pairs of shoes, right? You're you're figuring out what feels right. So many of them fall into the making the world a better place, serving others, how can I help category. And as you move forward, you'll figure out whether or not you like the highest heels or the moderate, or you want to be in sneakers, right? And that will that will help you figure out what's the most comfortable and what helps you move the fastest and what makes you feel the tallest. And I'm excited to watch you go because I think there may be days where you're in high heels and days when you're in sneakers, and and everything else in between, you'll be like, I'm good, right? How do we define hope, Sydney?

Sydney Moore 27:09

How do we define hope? Um in um in Catholic social teaching, you know, there's like this um, there's this idea, like this definition of love that is like love is to will the good for another. Um, as in like, you know, to want that good for somebody and to act in a way that promotes that good for somebody. Like to love somebody is to do that. And um, you know, I think that like to love to love yourself has to be the same way. Like, how can I will this like good for another? How can I will my good for will good for myself? And um for me, I've always I've always found hope to be in some capacity, you know, a different of different form of loving myself, you know, like hope for myself has been like, you know, um maybe like it's like the the feeling of how to make that love like happen for me, like when I hope for myself or to hope for the world, like for me to have hope for the world is like how can I bring like love into reality? And like that, and um that like motivation, that like desire for love kind of sparks that hope in me, you know, this idea of like, you know, how can I like bring about the best possible thing, what is good for everybody, right? Like I think that for me, I've always I've always found hope to be tied to love a little bit in that sense.

Danielle Elliott Smith 28:34

I love that. Do you have hope for the direction of where we're going in this country? You're gonna happen.

Sydney Moore 28:50

Here's the thing. Here's the thing. Here's the thing. Um I I think um Hold on one second, you know.

Danielle Elliott Smith 29:03

Alexa, be quiet. My Alexa decided she wanted to chime in on your answer. So she has feelings. Yeah, she does have feelings. It's okay. Oh shoot, my Alexa. No, it's okay. That's real life. That's that's the way things that's the way it happens sometimes. So I love that you started it with here's the thing.

Sydney Moore 29:28

Here's the thing. Um I think that I think that you know, we all like we all have to have hope. Like, I think that no matter how you feel, even about the way that things are now, um, we were already, we were just talking about this. Like, you know, I'm a lifelong learner. Like I refuse to believe that that like, you know, what is is all that could be. And so, you know, even if you think, even if, you know, even if we think that right now things are perfect, which obviously they aren't because nothing is perfect anywhere. But even if we think that things are perfect, you know, there's always a responsibility that we have to make to make things better, um, just for the sake of improvement and growth. Um, but you know, I think that I think that it's important to have hope. Ooh, sorry, I'm getting a little hoarse. Um, I think that it's important and necessary to have hope for the country, you know, because I love it so much. Like I I love America, and I don't even mean like I love America in that like yeehaw, like flag kind of way. More like uh, like uh I love I love America because I I admire everything that our country stands for. I admire everything. I admire everything that um I admire how diverse it is. I admire that it is the kind of place where, you know, you could walk on one end of the street and see, you know, like a Black Lives Matter flag, and then walk on the other side of the street and see like, you know, a completely different, a completely different like side of things and still, you know, like we're all we all have the rights, we all have the right to express ourselves fully and I love that. Free speech. Free speech, exactly. You know, like I love I love that about our country. Um I think currently have a constitution. I love that we I have um I have like the most beautiful copy of the constitution um somewhere on this shelf. Um but really oh I love that well because it's important to me, like because I I love this country. Um and I think that I think that I have hope I have hope for our country because I know, like I said, a lot of teenagers and a lot of people who you know love it also. Um I'm trying to think like Amanda Gorman, who's like, you know, like one of my like favorite people on the planet. I love Amanda Gorman.

Danielle Elliott Smith 31:59

You know, a lot of you, you know that. The second I heard her speak, I thought of you, right? Uh she is the kind of young woman that that you are. You are the kind of young woman she is, right? That that has the capacity to change hearts and go ahead.

Sydney Moore 32:26

No, I Amanda Gorman is just like I'm like, you know, um, I I memorized one of her poems for um an assignment in like sixth grade, and I've like never forgotten it because I love this poem so much. Um it's called We the People. And one of the last lines in the poem is like, We the people are brave enough to love this country's creed. We the people love this country enough to question its misdeeds. And um I think that it I think that it shows this um responsibility that comes from loving something, you know, this responsibility that comes from loving this country and loving this nation. You know, like if we love it so much, we have to hold it accountable. We have to hold its peak, we have to hold each other accountable to, you know, our behaviors and our actions. We have to hold, we have to hold our legislators accountable, no matter what party, no matter what, like we have to hold our legislators accountable because we put a lot of trust and a lot of power into their hands, like, and that power is power that we gave them, right? And it's like we have to make sure that they're building it responsibly and in a way that is like promoting the dignity of all of us, right? And um, I think that if we truly love this country, the only way that we can have hope for it is um if we're willing to, you know, get into the mud a little bit with it. You know, like we have to, we have to be willing to fight with it and fight for it, you know, because that's the only way, that's the only way to make this relationship work, you know. That's the way with you.

Danielle Elliott Smith 34:00

Loving something doesn't mean ignoring its flaws, it means fighting to do the right thing. It means holding it accountable and saying we can do better, right? And when you when you mention relationship, I mean, think about any relationship you have. We do mess up and we do say, I'm sorry, I could do better, right? And that to me is part of that relationship. And right now, I think there are a number of areas we should be doing a lot better. Uh unfortunately, there is not as much accountability as I would like.

Sydney Moore 34:38

Yes. There's honestly, I think that um I think that we need to start treating politicians like they're people more. Like, I think that we need to treat them more like they're human beings more often. Because, you know, at the end of the day, they are, you know, like they're not gods. They're not, they're not infallible by any means, you know, and they're certainly imperfect, and that's okay. Like, you know, more often than not, we love them because they're people, because they show us all these sides of themselves who are like, I understand you, I relate to you, and I want I have the same goals that you do. And so I think that, you know, in order to, in order to truly improve the state of things in our country, but then also in the world, we have to recognize that like all of our leaders, all of our leaders aren't like better than us. They're not, you know, like they are they're just as imperfect and just as they are yes, yes, they are us.

he Border Trip That Changed Everything

Danielle Elliott Smith 35:35

Because they are us and we have flaws, they have flaws. And it shouldn't be a surprise that they make mistakes. But we need them to take accountability and do better, right? So I uh of all the things you've done, you mentioned I think the lead STL of all the trips you've taken, of the internships you've done. Is there anything specific that has had the greatest or a couple of things that have had the greatest impact on you that you might recommend other teenagers seek out and do?

Sydney Moore 36:22

Okay. I I think I can like I think I know like the exact like moment. I think that I can know the exact one that like shaped everything for me. Um like I went um, I went on a trip to the border through this organization called Student Shoulder to Shoulder. So this was between my freshman and sophomore year. So it's right after I think I was 15. Um, and it's it was an organization that was dedicated to like, you know, like service learning and like solidarity. Um and you're not allowed to have your phone for the whole week. And so I was 15, I could not talk to my parents. I was in San Diego, which is like one of the best cities on the planet, and I was just with a bunch of strangers, like just a bunch of people who I had like just met. And one girl actually, coincidentally from my school. So she was a senior, but we kind of like ran into each other there. Um, and on this trip, like we were we were sent there to essentially just like learn from immigrants, like learn from learn from them about their journeys across the border. Um both like legal and illegal. We talked to deportees, we talked to, well, no human being is illegal. So I'm gonna rephrase that. But like both like documented, undocumented, and we learn from deportees. We spoke to a deported veteran, and it's like we spent the whole time pretty much um like shrinking ourselves a little bit and um focusing on how we can learn from other people. And I think that this is a flaw of, I think that this is like a fatal flaw that a lot of us have, you know, or at least sorry, this is a fatal flaw of mine for sure. Um, I'm the kind of person who like I always think that I'm right, you know, like it's just it's difficult, it's difficult to like fight that urge to just always think that you're right. And I think that for me, what I loved about this experience in particular was it wasn't about me being right or me being wrong or me being, like you said, the smartest person in the room. It was the first time that ever that I was like forced to sit down and like step off my soapbox and like just like learn from people, you know, because I'd been the kind of person who was like, I'm gonna pick up, I'm gonna pick up my sign and I'm gonna go out there and pick it, and I'm gonna yell, and I'm gonna do all these things and I'm gonna fight, right? But like I said before, you know, the most important thing that you can do first to before you do anything is learn. And I hadn't really given myself the chance to do it because I was so busy talking, I forgot to sit down and just like learn about the issues that I cared about. And so sitting down and like listening to immigrants just tell their stories and like you know, recognize that like in order to make a difference, I can't it can't be me talking for them. It has to be me walking in solidarity with them. Like it has to be me walking in solidarity with other people. And that set the tone for my like whole mission in life. Like my that set that rerouted my whole goal and what I thought it meant to be, even like an attorney, to be a human rights attorney, because you know, for me, I recognized that we often we often get into these positions of power, get these licenses or get these degrees or whatever, to come out there and do these things. And then we forget about the people who we're trying to work with and trying to help. And so I never wanted to be the kind of person who did that. And so from then on out, I've always been the kind of person who's like, I want to listen to you. I want to hear about what you have to say, and then we'll come, we'll work together on a solution for it. Like, I'm not just gonna say, here's how I'm gonna fix your problem. Like, what is a solution that works for us to both help each other and help you? Like, you can help me learn, and I can help you execute this and we can make it happen, right? And um, I think that teenagers just need to like commit themselves to doing stuff like that more often. Like it's and I don't mean like go, I don't mean like everybody has to go to the border, everybody has to go here and do that. Like, I just mean, you know, find a way to really immerse yourself with communities who you want to learn from, you know, communities that are different from yours. Find a find ways to immerse yourself in others because that way you'll actually be able to shape yourself more and learn more to actually effectively do stuff. Like you can't, you can never do anything like just by yourself. So finding ways to work in solidarity with other people, especially from a young age, like is just so important because that that will make you better for others.

Danielle Elliott Smith 40:55

I love this so much. This is not about you saving anyone, it's about you walking with people.

Sydney Moore 41:02

Yes. And you can't treat people like charity cases, you know, like people are so much more than that. You know, people are just I'm a person, right? Like, remember it's like you have to remember that like at the end of the day, no matter what language you speak or what you look like or you know, where you come from, and you have to remember that like at the end of the day, we're all the same, you know. I met a mother and a daughter at the border, you know, and I'm they were so close and they cared so much about each other, and I was like, that's how I am with my mom, you know? And it's like, you know, when you recognize that, when you recognize that you're not the only person on the planet and you're forced to walk in solidarity with others and you're forced to bear witness to their lives, both all the good and the bad things, it's like it um it allows you to realize that more. And it just, you know, it it I think it's humbling in the best way. Like it, it you it takes you out of the center focus and allows you to learn. And like that's what it does for me. And so I've always been like, that's when I that's when I became this kind of person who's like, I need to learn, like I need to expand my brain. Like that's that's how I can help people by like you know making myself more aware of other people and always recognizing that like I'm not I'm not just the only one who's right, you know.

Danielle Elliott Smith 42:20

When you were a little girl, I believed that you were going to change the world, and now I can feel it. It is it is extraordinary, it is a privilege to know you. Uh, it is a privilege to have watched you grow up, and I cannot wait to see what you do next. I'm so proud to know you, little girl.

Sydney Moore 42:48

I'm so proud to know you. I love you so much. And I know that I wrote this in like the in like the like message that I wrote you um for your vital shower, but like quite legitimately, like I've looked up to you my whole life, you know? And so just like to hear you say that about me, um, when I've always looked up to you as, you know, this go-getter who I honestly I feel like I take after you a lot because I'm just like you. Like I want to say yes to everything and I want to do everything because like I see strong women like you doing all the things and saying, if I want to do this, I'm gonna do it. Right. And I just like I I'm just so grateful to you for even like believing in me enough because I believe in you so much. Like I'm just so grateful to you.

hare The Story And Closing Sponsor

Danielle Elliott Smith 43:31

You're gonna make me cry. You are when you were when you were little, your mom and I used to joke that maybe you were secretly mine. Um because you used to ask for Christmas. You used to ask for like Miss Danielle boots. Um because you used to try to dress like me when you were a little bitty, when we used to go to the games and we would watch your brother David and my son Cooper play together. But you are you are such a treasure, and it has been so much fun to have you on the podcast. Thank you for making time with me. Of course. Thank you. Thank you. Friends, thank you for joining us for this episode of Hope Comes to Visit. I hope, I hope, that Sydney has given you as many chills and as much hope and as much inspiration for this next generation that we have coming forward as she has given me. I hope that you will turn around and share this episode and that you will pass it along and that you individually will take time to learn and to listen to people around you as she has suggested. Thank you for being here with us. And until we spend time together again, please take very good care of you. Naturally, it's important to thank the people who support and sponsor the podcast. This episode is supported by Chris Dully, a trusted criminal defense attorney and friend of mine here in St. Louis, who believes in second chances and solid representation. Whether you're facing a DWI, felony, or traffic issue, Chris handles your case personally with clarity, compassion, and over 15 years of experience. When things feel uncertain, it helps to have someone steady in your corner. Call 314 384 4000 or 314 DUI HELP, or you can visit Dulilawfirm.com to schedule your free consultation.