Growing up I had an uncle who was a lawyer, he was my inspiration. He eventually worked in anti-corruption fighting tirelessly to eradicate corrupt practices and restore democracy to our country. I knew I wanted to be a lawyer seeing the impact he made growing up. He was able to educate family, friends and even strangers on the law to ensure the were making informed decisions. I am currently a political science major and have always been fascinated with American history and politics. The issue I find is the further into my major I go the more I learn that many people do not know how the government truly works. To create change in our communities average Americans should be equipped with basic knowledge on our judicial, executive and legislative systems. My hope is to be able to pursue a graduate degree after my bachelor and continue to gain knowledge that I can redistribute. As much as I would like to go to law school I believe my experience may help set me up to go back and teach the law one day. I specifically take pride in learning about underrepresented groups and the best ways to help them. Regardless of if it is the underrepresented farmers, homeless individuals, disabled individuals, knowing how these people are wronged by systems and seeing how to best solve this is the future. People are inherently self interested and will pursue what puts them in the best position typically, but these patterns allow history to repeat itself. By representing the unheard and looking at historical patterns we can bring about real change. For example when you look at the housing crisis we are going towards now, historically we have been in a worse place before. Instead of predatory lenders we have investment companies buying large amounts of properties in large cities. Now history shows when we do not protect the homeowners/ families looking for the American Dream, economic downfall was nearby. If I had an opportunity to propose a solution, it would be to limit the amount of single family homes corporations can buy. The buying of these homes and forcing families into renting due to a lack of homes, while simultaneously increasing home costs and rent is something that needs to be controlled. As mentioned earlier when corporations have free reign over the future of Americans and their ability to be long-term home owners, the consequences have be fatal for the economy. This is just one issue, and there are millions more. But the study of history and politics allows me to see patterns and also draw lines. Banning companies from buying single family homes may be an overstep in authority, but limiting the numbers can help the crisis a bit. Thinking critically about how to help the unheard is important and my major helps me gain more information to help people make informed decisions.

On November 15th of 2022 I received a phone call letting me know my uncle Elias had committed suicide. It was 10:23 am, my shift started at 10:30 am. I broke down, the whole call center could hear me, though I feared I was too loud, I could not stop myself. I would proceed to be extremely emotional for the hour that followed, until my partner came to take me home, I was in no state to drive. This was the worst news possible, I looked up to this man, in every way possible. A father figure is what he had become, since moving to Arizona the drive to Orange County, California was just 5-6 hours and we had made it a tradition. As I looked at the pictures from my first time at universal studios with him, I remembered all his advice. It is important to note we are from a more conservative culture, an Eastern African country called Kenya. Generations before didn’t have too many female college graduates, but I was going to be one. My uncle while in line to the Jurassic Park ride advised me to “stay in school, and pursue your education to the best of your abilities.” He also gave me real estate advice, he said “as soon as you can, buy what you can, investing starts as soon as possible, there’s never a perfect time.” He’d started when he’d first come to America and he did not have time on his side as I did. Now in the current state of the housing market, a 20 year old may not be in a position to buy a house, but a father figures advice is to be cherished. His loss hit me very hard, I cried most nights for days after his passing. It felt surreal, because I have had my own mental health struggles and honestly, had never seen the aftermath of suicide. It’s especially surreal because in my culture we don’t often talk about mental health, depression is something that doesn’t truly exist when faced with so many hardships. Growing up I remember being told there’s people worse off. Now, while that may be true, the game of comparison is a dangerous one. Everyone has their limits and your scale of suffering does not dictate everyone else’s. This event stoped my life, I couldn’t perform at work once I came back, school assignments felt daunting. I received extensions but the motivation to complete these assignments from such a difficult week was like a bag of cement on my shoulders. I cried and woke up with swollen eyes so many times that eventually I had to create a plan. The plan, in this case, was to honor him, in the best way I knew how. Stay in school and pursue my education to the best of my abilities. Somehow I had straight A’s that semester, I hope I made him proud. I learned a few lessons from this experience first, take as many pictures as possible. Any moment I think would be lovely to look back on, I take a picture of. Multiple pictures taken on my phone ended being showcased to show a life well lived, those moments, are precious. Secondly I learned to love your friends and family and show them your appreciation because, tomorrow is not promised. Also mental health is real and valid regardless of people’s opinions. Lastly, I have a brighter burning light in me to do the best I can in school because there are some amazing people looking down at me and cheering me on.