This Young Girl

I once knew this young girl who was quite different from anyone else I had met before. She was extremely intelligent, had a sharp wit, had piercing determination, and had more potential than anyone could imagine. Think of the people you know that have the capacity to do anything they want: she was one of those people and then some. At twenty-two going on twenty-three, she hadn’t finished school yet. She worked a full time job and was the chief financial provider for her household that included her mother, who worked at a fast food restaurant on an Army base and her younger fifteen year old sister. This young girl had taken on the role of the primary provider at the age of sixteen. She had a father that left the family when she was still young. She has an older brother who is currently married and lives a few hundred miles away. Neither of those two men have been much help to this struggling family. I always wondered why she had not finished school yet. As her and I got closer and closer, I saw the reason. She has often had to work two jobs to keep her family afloat. She had to leave school. She could no longer afford to go to university and simultaneously put food on the table. Sadly there were times where she had to choose between food and paying the rent for their two bedroom apartment that they were able to get through government assistance that is located in one of the worst parts of town.

With tear filled eyes that broke my heart, she would tell me countless times that she is torn that she can’t go to school, but that she will do what she has to do simply so her younger sister can have a fighter’s chance at life. This young girl I knew chose to put her future on hold to be able to provide for her sister’s future.

I come from a middle class family. I went to a middle class high school. I grew up with middle class people. I didn’t understand the lower class until I grew to know this young girl. I saw with my own eyes the everyday struggle that they had to go through. I saw the tears that the lack of money caused.

Many people have asked me why I have an interest in politics, and why I want to enter public life. The answer I give them is something simple. I tell them that I believe we have made progress in this country, but there are places that I see where we can improve. I tell them that I believe in this country and along with that belief; there is more work to be done in order to keep this the greatest country on earth. That is an honest answer to the questions they pose. But the true deep core of my rationalization to enter public life is because of this young girl that I knew. Since I’ve known this young girl, I have proactively spoken to countless people in lower income situations and have come to realize that in this country, there are thousands of people that find themselves in the same situation that this young girl continues to find herself in. They have all the intangibles to succeed. They just lack the tangible: money. I have chosen to enter public life because of this young girl. No one should ever have to choose between food and their future. I will continue to work to ensure that one day we will get to the point where this decision never has to be made again.