Who I Am

When I was a girl, my mother, while stricken with cancer, used the little money she had to buy my sister and me the World Book Encyclopedia set and a collection of African American leaders' biographies. 

After school, I read about the stories of Wilma Rudolph, Muhammad Ali, Fredrick Douglass, and Booker T. Washington, among many others. I was impressed with the challenges these heroes overcame, though at the time  I was unaware that my mother was exposing me to possibility, while providing confidence, hope, and courage.  I believe she also wanted to distract me from the daily violence, drugs, and crime that harbored outside of my bedroom window. Compton, California, was the land of struggle, with many of its residents seeking to survive its chaos. 

Without much wealth, my parents gave my sister and me what they could afford: a work ethic, discipline, standards, goals, and love. Their sacrifice carved a commitment toward effort in our psyche. My mom was determined to provide us access to better education and drove 40 minutes across town so that we could enjoy a library with a broader catalog than what could be found in my neighborhood.

I discovered my purpose and interest in politics after checking out a book on the United States' Presidents as I was motivated by Lincoln's Exclamation Proclamation, LBJ’'s Civil Rights Act, and Theodore Roosevelts' Conservation Movement. At just eight-years-old, I committed to becoming a lawyer and assisting  people with financial and physical disadvantages.                   

The only college that would feed my hunger for politics was the University of California, Berkeley, an institution equally known for the education inside the classroom as the student activism outside the auditoriums.  As a Rhetoric major, I was encouraged and learned how to use my skills to advance causes and realized that actual growth required me to engage with individuals with diverse perspectives.  Diving into discussions and challenging my view brought two benefits: I either strengthened my convictions or found a better understanding of the truth. In either circumstance, I grew as a citizen. 

I discovered a greater understanding of myself when I enrolled in IU law school. After divorcing my first year, I became a single mother. My children watched me fight my way through school while working to keep the lights on and food on the table. When I wasn’t inside a classroom or tied to a desk, I gathered with other conservative law students and gained a better understanding of Indiana government. I discovered that while the government has its place, many Hooisers looked first to themselves and then their communities to solve issues. This was reminiscent of my parents’ philosophy. Like my classmates, my children saw the effort my parents instilled in me. By God's grace, they saw me struggle as a student and then pass the bar exam, just weeks after my mother’s death.  They watched proudly  as I took my oath to practice law and then when I became the Deputy Treasurer of Indiana and later Deputy Treasurer of Missouri.

I pray they never forget me reciting the oath of office or watching me in my long nights of study. It is the inheritance my parents were able to give me and I have attempted to pass on to them.  Also it is a reminder that the best way to predict the future is to create it.