nara 🌹

because i have this face, because i’m asian, and because i’ve never seen someone who looked remotely like me be in positions of power in america, my view on my own capabilities and capacity was stunted the day i was born. 2/

I NEVER saw someone who looked like me in politics . NEVER. NOT ONCE. politics TOLD ME that it was only meant for WHITE PEOPLE. not just white men - WHITE PEOPLE. people like me DID NOT BELONG. 3/

these types of signals was what stopped me from joining organizations like @AMarch4OurLives until after they’d started and until after i finally got rid of my preconceptions. i felt like i wouldn’t belong because the spaces in place weren’t reserved for people like me. 4/

so then i see @AndrewYang, a candidate that breaks the shell of what a “traditional presidential candidate” looks like. plus, he’s an asian man. he looks like me. 5/

when i was little, like every other kid, i wanted to be president. however, my dad told me that i couldn’t because america wasn’t ready for an asian president. but finally, i thought that maybe we were. maybe we were ready to see an asian person like me be president. 6/

now don’t get me wrong i’m not a huge yang supporter. i don’t necessarily agree with his UBI but what i do know is that he is a strong candidate with a ridiculously thorough policy platform who deserved MORE last night at #DemDebate2. 7/

what @NBCPolitics @NBCNews showed me and showed countless little asian kids in the world in the US is that it doesn’t matter if you consistently poll in the top 10. it doesn’t matter if you have one of the best policy platforms out there. 8/

it doesn’t matter if you work your butt off and deserve just as much speaking time as the person polling 0.4% in the polls. it doesn’t matter. you are still not white. you are still asian. you still do not fit the norm. you don’t matter. 9/

yesterday, i was told where i belonged. it was made extremely clear to me. thank you, @NBCNews @NBCPolitics for telling me that i don’t matter. #LetYangSpeak

anyways, thank you @AndrewYang for being up on the stage. they did you dirty but you still made waves who’s ripples will be far too great for me to even comprehend. you made a gigantic impact on me and my generation and for that, i thank you.

so i guess this is getting a lot of attention so let me tell y’all a little about myself: • my name is Nara Kim • i live in seattle, wa • i’m a first gen korean-american • i’m 16 • i’m going to be a junior in high school next year (wish me luck)

• i got involved in politics/advocacy through @MFOLseattle @AMarch4OurLives 1/ • politics wasn’t necessarily talked about at the dinner table growing up. that in addition to not seeing people like me made it so i hesitated joining MFOLS & being more civically active.

• i’m now the co-director of @mfolwa • i’m the pr chair of @WAHSDA • i work with a couple of other small advocacy orgs • i want to become a lawyer and defend civil/human rights and maybe work at the @ACLU • i hate peanut butter

• i could talk for hours about youth engagement and how politicians suck at reaching out to students • i could also talk for hours about the lack in asian representation in media & politics and how that effects me and my generation