Represented.

In my American Government class last semester, my professor asked the class why we think that women do not enter politics more often. Women are equally likely to be successful in politics versus men. The answer is that many of us do not even try, simply because no one ever tells us that we can or that we should, and we never see anything that suggests otherwise. This is especially true concerning black women. Before watching Shonda Rhimes’s Scandal, I had never considered entering the legal profession or politics. As I previously stated, the political arena is not a place that people generally encourage women to enter. As a child, no one ever told me that I could be a lawyer or political figure someday, and, before scandal I never saw any powerful, female political figures, especially not ones that look like me. Now, influenced by Scandal, I am pursuing a degree in Political Science, and I plan on attending law school, an Ivy-League law school, upon obtaining my undergraduate degree from Florida State University. I want to be a lawyer that fights for all women, be it special victims or civil rights. I have dedicated my life to making sure that all girls everywhere are treated with the respect that we deserve.

I have grown into a truly badass, confident, educated woman, very different from the insecure mess that I was as a child. Although Olivia Pope is a fictional character, what she stands for is real; she represents an inclusive society. She represents the limitless things that black women everywhere can do, something that is not seen very often on television.