I didn’t realize how debilitating my fear of needles was until I tried to get my wisdom teeth removed and my doctor refused to operate because, even under sedation, I was still “fighting” her. I find that the fear I get when faced with needles is the same feeling I get when my words are not being heard. One particular experience encouraged me to pursue a legal career. This story begins on a regular Thursday afternoon, in a study room at my undergraduate university’s library, with my two black female friends. Two students had reserved the study room we were in, but instead of knocking on the door, which was a customary practice at our library, they sent a white male student worker to escort us out. Getting staff involved was extreme, but excusable as the students seemed shy. I asked the staff member if he would be willing to have the students join our conversation with the hopes that we'd all learn how to handle a subsequent situation like this. He refused, insisting that if we did not want to leave, he would happily “call the police”. I walked away out of shock, and yet, two minutes later I was being interrogated by university police for harassment, or what the student worker described as “talking really fast and walking away from him really fast.” What started as a misunderstanding between two groups of students turned into a power trip for another. Although the officers concluded that my friends and I did nothing wrong, that did not change the fear, shame, and disrespect that we felt having to face the police in our school’s library. Not only did the student worker claim to be intimidated because of the way I walk and talk, but he didn’t seem to understand the emotional impact unnecessarily calling the police would have on students of color. My friends and I had spent our entire college careers in that library, just for us to feel permanently unwelcome due to one overwhelming incident. We went home and comforted each other as we cried, made each other laugh when it was too intense, and figured out ways to protect other black women and men on our campus so that they wouldn’t have to feel the way we felt. In a small predominantly white school where black students only made up 5% of the student body, I noticed more and more that as I shared my experience with others, I learned that they too felt unseen. I decided to confront the system that I was a victim of. I set up meetings with several governing bodies such as the Black Student Union and the Dean of the Library. I learned that a new library policy encouraged staff to call University Police when faced with a problem they couldn't to resolve. We protested this policy, and as a result of our persistence, new regulations were put in place to ensure that enforcement of library policies did not overlook the emotional impact on students of color. Through this, I’ve grown a passion for defending those who are unprotected, neglected, and disrespected by laws that should've been put in place to do the opposite. My background has allowed me to use my words in the fight against prejudice, injustice, and systematic racism by learning how to work within a system to advocate for people who find themselves discounted by it. I chose to attend Albany Law School to uphold their mission of promoting justice for marginalized communities and representing individuals who lack meaningful access to legal services.