Sofia Carson Gives Empowering, 'Descendants'-Inspired WE Day Speech

Sofia Carson took the stage at 2017 WE Day Toronto!

The Descendants 2 actress spoke to 20,000 students and educators from more the 600 schools at the event held on Thursday (September 28) at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada.

WE Day is an educational and inspirational event that celebrates the power of young people to make a positive difference in the world by taking action on local and global social issues.

Other speakers and performers included Kelly Clarkson, Vanessa Hudgens, Bailee Madison, Prince Harry, Jacob Tremblay, Lilly Singh, Sabrina Carpenter, Shawn Hook, Gaten Matarazzo, and Andre De Grasse.

“Can every girl in this room proudly raise her hand?” Sofia asked the crowd during her speech. “This story is for you… Once upon a time, there was a girl named Evie who lived in a movie called Descendants.”

“Behind the magic, the fairytale, and the blue hair, Evie was just a girl who was scared and confused,” she continued. “A girl who was told that she would never be good enough (like many of us feel), a girl who was told that her self-worth was defined by her reflection in the mirror (like many of us do), a girl who felt she just wasn’t smart enough…. Until, one day, she picked up a book and changed her life.”

Click inside to hear the rest of her speech…

“She learned that: WE are ENOUGH,” Sofia added. “We must love ourselves, love our differences, love our imperfections. We must believe with our whole heart that no matter who we are, where we come from, or who we love, we are ENOUGH.”

“WE ARE BEAUTIFUL,” she shared. “Beauty, true beauty, lies NOT outside but INSIDE each and every single one of us- and we should never let ANYONE ever define us by any reflection in a mirror, but by the love in our hearts and the intelligence in our minds. EDUCATION, education is our super power. Books and pens are our greatest weapons; and we, we are our own knights in shining armor.”

“Today, let’s write our own happily ever afters- where we live our lives, bravely; we educate ourselves, endlessly; dream fearlessly, and fight for our dreams, relentlessly,” Sofia said. “Because a girl with a dream and an education is a force to be reckoned with. Thank you WE DAY, I am honored to be in the presence of empowered girls that embody the epitome of ‘girl power.’ You are my heroes. Every word that I say, every song that I write, every character that I play is for YOU. You are my inspiration.”

“Can we say this together,” she finished. “WE ARE SMART. WE ARE STRONG. WE ARE BEAUTIFUL. WE ARE UNSTOPPABLE.”

Watch a video of the speech here.

FYI: Lilly is wearing Sarah Flint shoes.