When I was 4 years old I told myself that one day I would be a lawyer. I was focused and determined to do everything in my power to make sure I achieved this goal. I took honors and college courses in high school, I majored in Political Science at Spelman, and I completed internships in government and politics.
During my Sophomore year at Spelman, I attended the annual Spelman on the Hill trip, which allowed me to shadow a Congressman and lobby for individuals with disabilities on Capitol Hill. This experience fueled my desire to one day become a Senator. I told everyone I knew that one day I would be a change agent and fight for the rights of people who look like me. Of course, at that time Black women were underrepresented in the House and the Senate, but that just motivated me even more. I was determined to be the woman 4-year-old me desired to be.
Although I don't want to be in politics anymore, I still strive to be a change agent. I will always use my platform to speak out against injustice and fight for what I believe is right... and in today's society, I believe we could use more people who fight for equality and protection of all people.
Let's fast forward to 2020. I’m going to be completely honest with you, my spirit was hurt Election Night. As I started to see numbers come in, I really couldn’t believe how many people voted for a man who represents hatred, sexism, racism, and all of the worst aspects of our country. It truly started to make me look at my peers and classmates so differently. I'm well aware that people may have different opinions than me, but seeing people defend and praise the actions of such a cruel and corrupt man was my last straw. I thought that our country was ready to stand up and make a change. But as I saw so many states turning red, I had little faith in our society doing the right thing.
Election night turned into election week. Day after day I was frantically typing "Election Day 2020 Results," and refreshing the page every 5 minutes to see the number of votes that came in. My anxiety was bad. I was barely sleeping; in fact, I couldn't sleep through the night and was typically awake from 3am-5am Tuesday-Friday night.
When I heard the news that Joe Biden is going to be our next President and Kamala Harris is going be our Vice-President, I instantly became teary-eyed. To see someone who looks like me become the FIRST woman Vice-President Elect is absolutely incredible. A Black woman. A graduate from a Historically Black College. A woman of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. To the real MVP, Kamala Harris, thank you for breaking down barriers that made it nearly impossible to see a woman as the Vice-President of this country. You have made history while paving the way for young Black girls.
Madam Vice-President, your determination and resilience has inspired me to never give up. You have shown me that no dream is too big, and I am capable of achieving anything I put my mind to. Although I no longer desire to be a Senator, this historic moment has made me 12x's more excited to complete my legal education in May 2021. I can’t wait to see the amazing work you do for our country.
To all the little Black girls out there, let this show you that no dream is too big. You can do anything you put your mind to. Don't let anyone stop you from achieving excellence. Don't let anyone devalue the amazing experience that comes with attending a Historically Black College. HBCU's mold Black men and women into great leaders. Attend your dream HBCU, get that job, do whatever makes you happy. Always be unapologetically you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ashli Lyric
Spelman College '18
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Fall '19