Why politics?

As I’ve mentioned before, I am studying Political Science at Seattle University. When I am abroad, my core course at DIS will be Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism from a European Perspective, which piqued my interest as soon as I saw that it was an option. Here’s why:

I was one year old when the 9/11 attacks took place.

I was twelve years old when the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre took place.

I was thirteen years old when the Boston Marathon bombing took place.

And I was a senior in high school when the Las Vegas shooting took place in my home state.

From a young age, I have been exposed to the terrifying realities of our world. The real question isn’t why I would choose to study politics. It is why I wouldn’t be so interested in finding a solution to these acts of terror that have causes ceaseless pain in people’s lives. I have seen the hurt and hopelessness due to these attacks. It has been a constant throughout my life. I have always thought that someone needs to step up and propose a real solution.

It isn’t easy. Being nineteen with just about no experience in politics doesn’t give me a very big platform to share my opinions or ideas, but by educating myself on what powers the government has and what approaches we can take to protect people across the world, I am getting closer.

It started in 2008. My mom let me skip school to go to an Obama ’08 rally at which the soon-to-be president would speak. Now, I was only eight years old, so I wasn’t particularly interested in the discussion of foreign policy or the state of the economy, but I was moved by one thing. The effect that President Obama had on everyone there and the trust that these strangers had in him was inspiring. It was then that I started to understand the power of politics.

Pictured below is myself, my mom and my sister at the rally. Please ignore the 2008 photo quality and the single-use plastic water bottle:

And so it began. The long journey I have been on: learning, protesting, and voting.

I have participated in Women’s Marches…

rallies for Healthcare…

and I have Marched for Our Lives:

Activism is something that has been taught and well-practiced in my family. We all have passion for making substantial change and do what we can to make it happen.

Somehow, this all leads back to my Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism from a European Perspective course that I will be taking in Denmark. Learning what terrorism looks like and means to the Europeans will give me a greater, more overarching perspective on the issue as a whole and will help me in my search for a solution.

I look forward to beginning this course and getting a deeper understanding of what the realities of our globe in 2019 look like and how we can best deal with them.

Stay tuned for updates on my passion for politics and how DIS helps to fulfill it!