A chance to breathe. A chance to feel free and accepted for who I am as a person instead of the color of my skin. On Nov. 7. Senator Kamala Harris became the first-ever female and female of color vice president-elect of the United States of America. I felt a sense of gratitude and empowerment as soon as I heard that I finally have someone that looks like me in office as Vice President.

Harris is the daughter of a Jamaican father and Indian mother, a wife to her husband and American lawyer Doug Emhoff and a mother to stepchildren Cole and Ella. According to the New York Times, Harris “attended Howard University, a historically Black college and one of the country’s most prestigious, then pursued work as a prosecutor on domestic violence and child exploitation cases.” In 2017, Harris was also sworn in as a United States senator for California. Harris was the first South Asian-American senator in American history and the second Black woman.

For the first time in four years, I finally feel like I have a future to write my own story. Children, young adults and my peers have something to look forward to in their life. We have a path of success waiting for us and to see the first Black and South Asian-America women to be elected vice president is truly an accomplishment.

As a person of color, you feel like you are stuck in this bubble of the world not seeing you for who you truly are. You are judged by the color of your skin, the way you talk, the way you walk — even any sudden movement you make. You can barely walk somewhere in a predominantly white community without someone looking you up and down and wondering why you are there.

Harris shows me I belong. She shows the world that no one should be judged by the color of their skin and how we are all in this together. She gives a message to all people of color to not be afraid to use our voices, and she shows a path for success.

Seeing and hearing that from a Black woman who is about to become the Vice President of the United States gives me reassurance that our world is going to be stronger.  She gives me hope and direction to see that I am just as equal as any other person in society.

In Harris’s speech on Nov. 7, she gave a message to all the women in the world.

“While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last,” Harris said, “Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities.”

Harris is not without controversy. According to the 19th, a “nonprofit newsroom supported by a mix of membership, philanthropy and corporate underwriting,” Harris has had a rough past of allegations towards the “issue as a prosecutor, a string of missteps on trans issues and recent support for bills cracking down on sex work.”

Even though she has had some conflict with the LGBTQ+ community and has made mistakes, I still believe in the fact that she is inspiring many women and girls of color to keep fighting for their voice, life and encouraging them to never give up. She is inspiring me every day to express my own opinion to the world and to never be afraid of who I am.

This is only the beginning of a huge milestone. Harris reminds people that we have a right to use our voice and to live a successful life. We have so much more to accomplish in the future and to lead this country with greatness because if we don’t it, who will?