In 2008, my neighbors called the police on my family for no reason. It was an argument that escalated because of their selfishness. As a result, a police officer decided to harass, yell at, and forcefully detain my family member, and that led to my cousin going to jail. It was heartbreaking knowing that a family member went to jail for no reason. About 7 years later, that same police officer who arrested my cousin was on the news and was going to jail for abusing his wife and abusing his power as a police officer. It turned out that he got a lot of complaints from people saying that he was abusing his power or that he was a mean person. When officers’ duty is to protect and serve, they are supposed to use their power for good, to stop people from stepping out of line, and to make sure that their community is a safe environment. Hearing that the police officer who arrested my cousin was going to jail made me feel like there are lawyers out there who do what is good for the population. They will fight against what is wrong, and what needs to change in the system that we all put our trust in. With what happened to my cousin, I want to make a difference in my community, for the people who get wrongly accused of crimes that they did not commit, for the human beings that are treated like animals, but I especially want to fight for the women like the police officer’s wife against abuse and harassment. Because even as a young girl, I know how it feels to be harassed by someone you thought you could trust. It’s sickening, I want to take such a tragic event and use it to gain the strength that I need to pursue what I wanted to do ever since I was a little kid. Help people. I want to be in a courtroom where I can speak up for the kids who can't do it themselves. Because when I hear other people’s stories, I think of how they must feel. but I know that in a few years, I will be fighting alongside so many people who deserve the justice that they are seeking. It will be a heartwarming thing to experience. Knowing that someone can sleep better at night and that they can say that justice was served. This all goes to say that lawyers play an important role in people's lives. Whether people know it or not. They can help a lot of people out of situations that they don't deserve to be in. Or little disagreements regarding pretty much any and every situation. This also goes to show that lawyers will always be needed in the world because there is always disagreement, and people who don’t know how to defend themselves professionally, will need to hire a lawyer. And as a lawyer, I respect that they treat everyone the same. There is no discrimination most importantly, and it is understood that every case is treated equally. Especially in my community, I want to see a change in how officers treat people. The reason why I want to become a lawyer is to make a difference in general. I want to give people who grew up in the same environment as me to realize that they can succeed and do what they set their minds to and that there is an opportunity to make a change in their life and their community.

In 2008, my neighbors called the police on my family for no reason. It was an argument that escalated because of their selfishness. As a result, a police officer decided to harass, yell at, and forcefully detain my family member, and that led to my cousin going to jail. It was heartbreaking knowing that a family member went to jail for no reason. About 7 years later, that same police officer who arrested my cousin was on the news and was going to jail for abusing his wife and abusing his power as a police officer. It turned out that he got a lot of complaints from people saying that he was abusing his power or that he was a mean person. When officers must protect and serve, they are supposed to use their power for good, to stop people from stepping out of line, and to make sure that their community is a safe environment. Hearing that the police officer who arrested my cousin was going to jail made me feel like there are lawyers out there who do what is good for the population. They will fight against what is wrong, and what needs to change in the system that we all put our trust in. With what happened to my cousin, I want to make a difference in my community, for the people who get wrongly accused of crimes that they did not commit, for the human beings that are treated like animals, but I especially want to fight for the women like the police officer’s wife against abuse and harassment. Because even as a young girl, I know how it feels to be harassed by someone you thought you could trust. It’s sickening, I want to take such a tragic event and use it to gain the strength that I need to pursue what I wanted to do ever since I was a little kid. Help people. I want to be in a courtroom where I can speak up for the kids who can't do it themselves. Because when I hear other people’s stories, I think of how they must feel. but I know that in a few years, I will be fighting alongside so many people who deserve the justice that they are seeking. It will be a heartwarming thing to experience. Knowing that someone can sleep better at night and that they can say that justice was served. This all goes to say that lawyers play an important role in people's lives. Whether people know it or not. They can help a lot of people out of situations that they don't deserve to be in. Or little disagreements regarding pretty much any and every situation. This also goes to show that lawyers will always be needed in the world because there is always disagreement, and people who don’t know how to defend themselves professionally, will need to hire a lawyer. And as a lawyer, I respect that they treat everyone the same. There is no discrimination most importantly, and it is understood that every case is treated equally. Especially in my community, I want to see a change in how officers treat people. I want to spread a message that anyone can be prosecuted, even if they have a higher position than the average person. I want to give people who grew up in the same environment as me to realize that they can succeed and do what they set their minds to and that there is an opportunity to make a change in their life and their community.

The way I stay true to myself in my daily life is to make sure that whatever I do everyday, I do it because I want to do it. I know people sometimes get caught in the social media life, where they want to do with others are doing to fit in, But I don't want to fit in. I want to do things that will make me happy and wiser everyday. I also don't allow people to influence what I do, or how I do things. I think that it's important for people to know that it's ok to make mistakes and to learn from them. That's how I stay "true" to myself. Not only do I want to stay true to myself, I want to influence others to do the same thing. I want to inform people that being different is ok and there's nothing wrong with it. We are all different and that's what makes each and every one of us special and unique.

Women have been used and abused for too long, and now it's time that we get our voices heard and our demands met. To overcome this long and tedious obstacle, I believe to first look at what a society is, how a society functions, and how society plays a role in our lives. Society is where people follow others and do what the next person is doing, whether good or bad. It stands on what most people think is right or wrong, "in" or "out." The way that society plays a role in our lives is through social media. Social media is where pretty much where everything is at the click of a button, or even more conveniently, a touch of a finger. We can see what people believe, what they don't think in and their viewpoints about topics. Society can most effectively empower women is to put their pride to the side and not be selfish. I get that others have views on how they see women and what they should and shouldn't have, but we have to make sure that there is no one against us. People tend to underestimate what a woman can do. Some think that women are too soft or too weak to do specific jobs that are not true. Women can do anything they put their minds to. People should respect that and also validate women's feelings. We should make sure that people know that women are just as equal as men are. Everyone should start a nationwide protest at the white house and issue their demands. They should also begin to post about this on social media, and if enough people see that women are standing up against being left behind, they will know that we are serious about this movement. And probably stand alongside the movement. I also feel that women should be looked at with a more sensitive eye because women have to go through things such as being sexualized and looked inappropriately throughout the day but have to suck it up in front of others as if it doesn't bother us. This treatment can happen from home, a workplace, or just walking down the street. I have experienced unwanted stares, and it is not pleasing. Furthermore, people should start to take women's accusations more seriously. We should not victim-blame anyone when it comes to someone talking about their incidents. If people know that others are listening and that women listen to each other, we can be the change we want to see.

Even though my old friends were constantly pushed me in the wrong direction, I did not let that stop me from pursuing my academic path and journey. When I was in high school, I had many friends who did not care about school. They only went to school to see their friends, or they wouldn't come to school at all. Teachers used to act like I was invisible and would look over me when I needed help. At one point, one teacher yelled at me in front of my mother and told me I was not good enough in front of the whole class. That was the first time iv'e ever been yelled at by a teacher, and I felt embarrassed and betrayed. The person who is supposed to educate me was telling me that I wasn't good enough? My Mother and I went on to say to the vice-principal, and he did nothing about the situation. I knew that the school was lazy and did not care about the students but only cared about their faculty. That teacher thought that I would not graduate, but I did. I wanted to further my education despite the things people put in my ear for years. This was when I knew that I wanted to make a change and to be the change. In today's news and media, we see that people in court are always wrongfully accused of something they didn't do or forced to lie to get a lesser sentence. I don't think that's fair. I see that a lot in court cases, the judge or lawyer will disregard what the defendant or the prosecuted has to say and give their best judgment about the situation. These judges and lawyers are dealing with people's lives. They get to decide whether someone will be locked up for a little bit of time or the rest of their lives. I don't want anyone to feel how I felt back in high school. I felt like I was just looked over, neglected, and no one cared about me. Every day when I went back to my teacher's classroom, it felt like a prison. I believe that people should be able to use their voices wherever they are. That experience in high school has taught me a lot about how people viewed others that are lower than them. Once I get my degree, I will use it to help others get the justice they deserve, regardless of their past, sex, race, or where they were raised. I plan to pursue my education and go to law school. I then want to come back to my community, talk to students who have gone to my high school, and tell them that they could end up like me if they have the resistance, courage, and bravery. And finally, give the people what they deserve in my community

Tom DeWit (he likes to be called Dewit). The person who helped me pursue higher education. He was not only a teacher, and he was a mentor, a friend, and a 2nd dad. Dewit was my professor for English in my first semester of community college, and he straight away told my class that we were going to work, think, and write. He was right too. I did just that, but he helped me every step of the way. He would stay after hours to make sure that I had a better understanding of the material that I was learning and checked up on me individually to make sure that I understood the assignments. DeWit was a person who I could trust and count on when it came to anything. I could tell him things that may have happened outside of school, and he would give me advice on how to go about things. He made sure that I had the materials that we needed to do the assignments. He would not leave anyone behind because of what they don't have. He taught me that we need to take care of one another and not exclude someone because of what they don't have. The year after that, I was his teacher's assistant. I then did the same thing as him and ensured that his students had everything they needed for his class. If they didn't have anything, then I would make sure they got what they needed. When I was applying for colleges, I asked him for help. We stayed on the phone for hours talking about school and what I needed to do for school. He checked up on me to make sure that I turned things in on time, and I would occasionally ask him for help or a better understanding of things, and he would gladly answer my questions. When I announced to him that I got into the college I wanted to go to, he was so proud of me, and I just thought to myself that I couldn't have done it without the help of DeWit. Looking back at all the things he has done for me to achieve higher education, I plan to check up on him to make sure that he is ok and make sure that when he needs help with anything, I'll be there. I feel like he gave me a second chance, and it's time to give back.

From family telling me at the age of 14 that I sound "white" and one family member telling me that I should work "over the phone" because I sound white" saying my voice is more desirable. Having a lighter skin complexion and people calling me "light skin" and giving out backhanded compliments such as "you're cute for a black girl." We are all the same. Even though I never was teased about my skin color or sounded like "an angry black woman," it doesn't change that I am a black woman. I am another statistic in the eyes of the law. These things that have happened to me in the past showed me now the changes that we need to work on to kill off these racial thoughts, these coloristic mindsets within our community, as well as educate people about the history of black women and how much black women have done. Being a black woman in America showed me that having division in our community is bringing us down in a time that we need to be sticking together. I would use these ideas for social activism because these are some of the main factors that we go through on a daily basis. Whether if it's on social media or in person. As a black woman, I learned that we have to be more responsible at a young age, making me a more responsible woman. This has also shown me maturity. Maturity in the sense that I know that it's time for a change, and we are here to make that change. We are already doing well. When I get older, I want to become a lawyer for a few years, then work my up to become a judge. As I'm doing that, I also want to be in the front lines protesting for my people. I want to be the voice for many women who may be too scared to say something. I like the young black girls to know that they can do what they want and be whoever they want to be despite what others say or label them.