The date is November 7, 2020 and I have been sitting on the couch for 5 straight days waiting for the results of the Presidential race to come. It is 11:23 am in the morning and I have been awake since 6:30 am because I cannot sleep because we still do not know who the future 46th president of the United States will be. As the clock turned to 11:24 am the words Former Vice President Biden is now the US President- Elect, but it wasn’t Joe Biden’s name that gave me relief, it was his historical running mate. The world as we know it has changed within a matter of seconds. It was the name Kamala Harris that brought me comfort and it was on this day that the world proved the future is female. The first female, black, and Asian American will hold the second highest office in the land.
On Saturday night, I was filled with so many emotions and I was almost filled with disbelief in what has happened. It had been four years of darkness and separation between the people of the United States. It was four years of accepting hate and bigotry in an office that is supposed to represent the people. Now as I sit on the couch waiting for the first women to address the nation, I feel a great weight lifted off my chest. Many people will not understand what it is like to be a woman in today’s society. It is a world that consistently undermines the potential of a person based off their gender and to only see value their sex and not their minds. It was hard for me to see a world of possibilities for women, especially with the election of Donald Trump, but today is a new day. When Harris walked out on to that stage to Mary J. Blige “Work That,” she may have not realized it yet, but she was walking in the footsteps of all the women that came before her and making footsteps for future women to follow. When Harris wore white in her acceptance speech, she remembers the suffragettes from the 1900s who paved the way for women in the first big step in politics by getting the women’s right to vote. And the most important thing she did is look at the future. Harris directly addressed the young women as the United States in saying that “Every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities.” Flooded with emotions, I never truly thought I would see this day.
Growing up, I would go to history class every day and learn about men. As a young girl I often wondered why I never saw women in the history books holding offices of power. I remember in the seventh grade when we learned about the requirements of being the president and vice president. One of my classmates said that one of the requirements was probably that you must be a man. My teacher corrected my peer and said that women can be an elect, but during these times it is doubtful that one will be elected because women have not progressed far enough yet. Ever since then, I have looked at history and the future differently. Now that I am a little older, I see a better future for women because of the progress we have made and that is because of Kamala Harris. For the first time in my life, I can see a future where women can be President and a chance for the world to be that much kinder.
Although this a great day for all women, it is still just a step in the right direction. The work has just begun and us women are just getting started. Kamala Harris is just one woman and people have not yet felt the weight of what she has accomplished. As she rises so does every woman in America and we are one step closer to a world where we are all treated as equals. Shakespeare wrote once “heavy is the head that wears the crown,” so thank you Kamala for taking this weight so that future generations like me will be unburdened by what has been so we can create a world for what it can be. Future Madam Vice President, the days will get hard and the roads will be rough but know that women all around the country are standing behind you applauding you every step of the way.