Little Girls, We’ve Made It
But there’s still so much work to be done.
Kamala Harris made history this past week. She is the first woman, first mixed race woman, first person of South Asian and African descent, to be named the Vice President of the United States.
When I saw that Joe Biden had won the election, I felt relief. I was working at the time, but if I had been home I would’ve cried. These past four years under Trump’s presidency have been chaotic and terrifying (and that’s putting It lightly). Seeing a professional politician who has empathy and a sincere want to bring the people of this nation together brings hope to my heart.
Of course, once the gratitude of winning Biden washed away, I was left with a strange feeling I had not felt in a long time. The possibility of seeing a woman in the White House always felt so far away. Even when Hilary Clinton ran back in 2016, I had a sad feeling that she wouldn’t succeed.
There have always been walls in place to prevent women from achieving the same greatness as their male colleagues. From not getting paid as much as men to the obsessive need to control our bodies, women have always been second best. With Harris walking into the VP role, I don’t see a woman who failed her presidential ballot and got second place. I see a woman who worked hard for the role she was voted into.
I see progress.
When I was a little girl, I never wanted to be any sort of politician. I have, however, grown up wanting to be in predominantly male roles in my working life. I wanted to be a musician, a lawyer, a chef, a business owner. While a lot of people would argue that they’re not, I believe that men have really dominated those careers for a very long time.
My chosen career path, food service, is arguably dominated by men as well. The restaurant industry has been more open in recent years, but is classically shut off to women. Women chefs in high-profile restaurants are still rare. Even in a small business setting, like the one I thrive in, there are a select few restaurants that are defined by their women owners. My GM is a woman, and I’ve seen first hand how intimidated men still get at the thought of a woman in a leadership role. She navigates through that stigma with determination and a level of patience that is saint-like.
So, when I realized Kamala Harris had won the second-highest title in the United States, I was happy! Excited! Overall, I was grateful. I felt the same back when Obama was elected. Teenaged Mary knew that when that wall was broken, there was nothing stopping us from moving forward in terms of equality. We have a lot of work to do still, but back in the Obama era, I saw no reason we couldn’t make our country as united as the average American thought we could be. Now in 2020, I have that hope again.
As a multiracial woman, it’s refreshing to see someone who looks like me represent America. For too long, we’ve been represented by the growing minority: Old White Men. In 2020, our country doesn’t look like that anymore. Baby Boomers are quickly becoming the second biggest generation in America. They are being replaced by people like me, Millennials who want a fresh-faced, new and improved plan to save the country from the brink of civil war.
I will admit, I didn’t like Harris’s politics back in the primaries. I wanted Bernie Sanders as my next president, as many of my peers did. I proudly voted for Biden and Harris, and in four years (if all goes well), I’ll do it again. I’m happy to see people coming into the White House who actually know what they’re doing!
If Trump had been re-elected, Civil War II would have happened. It still might happen, honestly. This election cycle has proven that to be a not so comforting fact. However, if there’s one thing I’ve noticed throughout this year, it’s that love and understanding conquers the fear and hate that people have to go through every day. I genuinely believe this new administration will begin to heal the deep wounds of this country.
I watched the victory speeches with my dads and my husband after dinner the day they announced Biden had won. I was so emotional seeing Harris up there, a woman of color, accepting the role as Vice President. The only thing I could think of while she was speaking is just how excited I am to show her speech to my future daughter one day. I could imagine my mother would do the same with me if I were a child right now. My mom has always been very adamant about voting; as an African-American woman, my mother was taught by her parents to never take voting for granted. She was born the year the Civil Rights Act was passed, so I feel like that adds an extra layer to her insistence that my sister and I vote. “It’s something we had to fight for,” she would tell us. “Use your voice!” I plan on telling my children the same thing one day.
I’m fortunate enough to live in a world where women are becoming whoever they want to be, regardless if people like it or not. I’ve celebrated women who run their own lives, who break boundaries, who fight for change. I believe that Kamala Harris will do so much for our country simply by being Vice President. To see a woman of color in the White House is something I can be proud of, and I’m confident that the little girls of the country will have the perfect role model for years to come.
However, just because Harris is in the White House now doesn’t mean the work for equality can stop. Now more than ever, we should be working together to find solutions to the world’s problems like Global Warming, eliminating fossil fuels, and saving our Earth. We should be giving each and every person in America the chance to strive for greatness. Whether it’s raising minimum wage, opening up vacant buildings to be transformed into homeless shelters, increasing mental illness and drug addiction awareness (and actually doing something to help the lives affected by it), protecting the marginalized and putting laws in place to give them the rights they deserve…the list goes on. These things will improve everyone’s lives, not just men, women, and everyone in between. With this administration, with particularly Biden and Harris working together to bridge the gap between old school politics and new school politics, I think all of that is possible.
Hello everyone! That election was nuts, right? I can’t explain how relieved I was to hear that Biden won. And Kamala!! Like I said, I didn’t really like her politics at first, and I’m still on the fence, but no one can deny that it’s amazing that she’s the VP elect! I’ve been excited about it since the news broke.
I usually don’t write about politics, but I figured this was too important to pass up. Luckily, I don’t like writing about politics too much, so you won’t get another one of these politically charged posts for a while!
If you liked today’s post, consider following me on Twitter for retweets about various politic-related things (and goofy tweets from yours truly)! I’ve also made a Ko-fi, where you can tip after you read! All of the tips I receive will be going towards self-publishing my NaNo project, so if you’d like to be a part of that, be my guest! (I am still setting it up and I don’t really know how to use it so if something goes wrong, just tell me in the DMs on Twitter!)
Anyways, thanks as always for reading! I’ll see you here next week!
