As the only girl in her family of seasonal agricultural workers in Turkey, Azize, 14, shoulders a lot of responsibility at home. She still works hard at her studies, and wishes everyone could have the same opportunities in life.

Gjulsefa, 16, loves studying history and Macedonian. She plans to become a teacher and to get married after finishing her education. At age 12, she thought her brother had it easier; now she says girls and boys both face their own challenges.

Being displaced by the conflict in eastern Ukraine has made Olya, 15, passionate about working for peace. When she was younger, she thought about doing so as a translator; now she believes becoming a lawyer is the right career choice for her.

Four years ago, Rosita was in school in Albania, but later had to drop out due to her family’s financial situation. At 16, she would like to go back, and become a teacher herself someday, but doesn’t expect to have the opportunity.

Sesili, 13, loves books and dreams of traveling the world, just as she did four years ago. At her school in Tbilisi, Georgia, she is friends with both boys and girls and thinks everyone should be treated equally and respect each other.

Akak, a seventh-grader in Kyrgyzstan, wants to join the police academy after she graduates, the same plan she had at age 10. While she still wants to wait to marry until age 24, she now thinks she’ll have two children rather than four.

Traveling the world and pursuing a career in journalism are still in the future plans of Tika, age 15, of Georgia. She would also like to have children, someday. For the world, she wants to see an end to all forms of discrimination.

At age 10, and now at 14, music is Vanessa’s biggest passion, though she dances, paints and writes poems too. “I love art and I will stay in this field forever,” says the Moldovan teen. She doesn’t see her gender as a limit on her dreams.