I have been protesting for over half of my life. There’s a reason for that. Since the ripe age of eight, my aunt has involved me in the world of political activism. She herself had been protesting for decades before, fighting against issues ranging from global environmental decline to police brutality. She’s formed so many close friendships and connections throughout the years. She’s the leader and primary spokesperson of multiple groups. She’ll be coming up on her 32nd year of being an activist. My aunty has been my main source of inspiration in that area and I felt she must be given her proper credit.

After so many years of being exposed to suffering and a deliberate affront to what little this world has of innocence, I realized what is truly important to me is righting wrongs, to make an attempt to be a part of a voice that helps people who cannot help themselves, a voice for the voiceless. The foundation of my advocacy is deeply rooted in my own personal experiences with oppression. Some examples of this are during protests, the most horrible racist and/or misogynistic quotes are screamed at me by the opposing side, or something as simple as rumors being spread about me by boys who didn’t get what they wanted. When I started to see that some of the issues I fight against affect me and my peers closely, it was a giant eye-opener. Fighting for the betterment of humanity and against social and environmental injustice is something that should be an undisputed necessity to the ongoing stride for mankind’s prosperity. It is important that I will always fight for what I know is right. That is the duty of young people, to challenge the corruption and complicity our society tends to normalize.

Because of my proclivity for political debates and such, people often describe me as argumentative and idealistic. They say I care too much about things that they seem to think are impossible for one girl, a teenager in high school at that, to bring real change to. I’ll happily take that challenge! They say I have a too-big heart and a short temper, seeing as I do not tolerate any and all forms of ignorance. I have no patience for an uneducated tongue. Although there is a lot of blame that goes to the system, there is also a very high sense of individual accountability I hold people to. These days especially, it is very easy to find real, credible information. We are even taught in schools the signs to look for! It is as easy as it is imperative to find these things; education is always first. There is a level of blame when people willingly do not do that.

I guess those are my main obstacles. The fact that certain people are in charge of things that don’t even affect them, such as primarily old white men on the Supreme Court that think they can dictate what a woman does with her body. Things they know nothing about and the people who support the authority in charge, the system and its perpetrators that have been so deeply ingrained in the minds of the people that are a product of it. There will always be forces pushing against me and my movement. But ultimately, it boils down to a very simple question; Are you down with those who oppress or with those who are oppressed?

I usually spend my free time helping my groups plan and organize actions and activities for protests. I also love to read and further my knowledge on things that interest me so I am able to educate my peers and the people who need it, so I am able to help them.

Considering all of this and me constantly teaching those around me something, I think I would want to be an educator of some sort. Shaping young minds to help build a better future for humanity, so we can all finally stop saying that youth is wasted on the young. I’d definitely be either an English or history teacher, so I could teach students how to speak out for what’s right for one, and teach them how history shows the parallels of when we need to start speaking out today, for the other. I protest for a better future. If you are interested in helping the fight for a better humanity, look at groups such as WorldCan’tWaitHawaii, Refuse Fascism, RiseUp4AbortionRights, etc.