Write about a time you felt inspired to make a change:
I feel inspired to make a change often. I feel inspired to make a change every day when I work with young adults who’ve experienced foster care, homelessness, or who have struggled with housing instabilities, and those who are navigating life with refugee status. I feel inspired to make a change when I hear testimonies from those who face disparities due to their age, race, religious beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, and their physical and mental health. I feel the most inspired when someone I love or myself faces hardships and inequality due to policies and practices in place, or risks certain human rights being taken away. There is much to be inspired about all around us in the current climate of our nation, and a key component in advocating for change is to exercise our right to vote.

Why is it important for young people to vote?
It is imperative for young people to vote because this is, despite popular belief and some of my own occasional doubts, an effective way of getting your voice heard. I grew up in a household where voting was never a priority, and none of the adults in my life voted. Yet, there were plenty of changes in policies that directly affected them that they had strong opinions about.

As I navigated high school and learned more about voting and the voting process, I decided I wanted to be someone who took advantage of every advocacy opportunity available to me to make the changes I wanted to see in the world. I didn’t want to be someone who complained about how things were without knowing I was actively trying to change them.
Voting can often feel frivolous, I know I’ve felt that way before, but as someone who is affected by what's on the ballot, and as an advocate, I feel empowered knowing that I least tried and did everything in my power to elect the changes I want to see.