Mark my words, Malala Yousafzai may be TIME Magazine's person of the year.
She was the intentional target of the Taliban a year ago -- and now no one can take their eyes off her.
The teen should have won the Nobel Peace Prize. Wasn't shocking Jon Stewart into stunned silence enough?
Joking aside, her recovery from getting shot point-blank in the head was remarkable but the journey she has taken after being released from the hospital is even more amazing. Sixteen-year-old Malala has inspired not only children in her own country, but adults all around the world. It would be hard for her to return to Pakistan -- where there's current controversy even surrounding naming a school after her.
After the assassination of former prime minster Benazir Bhutto, not many women have risen to global prominence and so quickly to become known on a one-name basis.
Malala continues to push her own millenium development goal for education for young women everywhere -- because her young mind has matured that while some attackers can try to take away stability and peace, no one can take back a degree and a legacy. What she has accomplished is more than words can describe. Many may fear for her wellbeing but she lives not in it.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the eventual prize winner, was deservedly a finalist in investigating the use of sarin as a crime against humanity, after tens of thousands reportedly died in the ongoing civil war -- with more people in strife, and more lives are still at stake. According to a release, the Norwegian Nobel Committee highly values the nonexistence of nuclear weapons.
President Barack Obama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 precisely for his part in promoting dialogue, pushed for disarmament and said Syria crossed the "red line."
More recently, the president sat down with young Malala and she used the opportunity to talk terrorism concerns at the White House.
It's hard to measure, and while some may argue there are many Malala's out there -- she has individually captured hearts and shed light on what courage can achieve.
The OPCW should have been awarded a lifetime achievement of sorts.
And this should have been Malala's year of recognition.