Yara Shahidi Plans to Have a 'Voting Party' for Her 18th Birthday

Yara Shahidi is using her upcoming 18th birthday to raise voting awareness.

The Grown-ish star shared her thoughts during Oprah Winfrey‘s Super Soul Conversations at The Apollo Theater on Wednesday (February 7) in New York City.

Oprah even called the actress, activist, and Harvard-bound scholar one of “the most profound 17-year-olds alive.”

“Our generation realizes that age has never been a limit in terms of social activity and being able to look back at the civil rights movement… and see that it does not matter how old you are to get engaged,” Yara said (via ET). “If anything, it is so important to make it our mission, especially if you have the privilege to do so, to be socially aware and to help our global community.”

Yara also revealed that she plans on launching an initiative called “18 by ’18″ to increase voter turnout among young voters, in the hope of to turning activism into “quantifiable action,” to which Oprah replied, “I don’t think I ever knew the words ‘quantifiable action…’ when I was 17.”

“Your future is so bright it burns my eyes,” Oprah added.

Oprah at the Apollo will air on February 27 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network and will be available via podcast at Oprah’s Super Soul Conversations.

Yara continued the discussion during her appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Thursday. Watch the video below.

FYI: Yara is wearing RAEN glasses on Colbert.