Blame The West Wing When I Take Over the World
As a middle-schooler, my deepest desire was someday to be President of the United States. This is not the most traditional career goal for a slight thirteen-year-old girl, but neither was I the most traditional child. I had grown up with my mother reading James Herriot -or some other author most parents would assume above our comprehension level- to my brother and me every night, and I had struggled with the obstacles of food allergies and the pressure of a private school where I didn't really fit in. But I could always find solace at eight o'clock central time, Wednesday nights, on NBC, in what was (and is) my favorite television program: The West Wing. The example of Josiah “Jed” Bartlet and his senior staff never ceased to impress me. They instilled in me a desire for a greatness like that shown by the characters I watched so raptly once a week during some of the most tumultuous years of my life. Their example guided me through the awkward transitions of adolescence and continue to guide me -whenever the DVDs are in at the local Blockbuster- to this day.
My personal struggles in growing up mirrored at first the struggle of the fledgling Bartlet administration in the first season of the show. The saying that defined that season and got me hooked on The West Wing was, “Let Bartlet be Bartlet.” Learning to trust myself has been the biggest battle of high school experience. Coming out of a trying middle school experience, I was acutely unsure of myself and my beliefs. My Wednesday nights in front of the television helped me learn that what others may or may not think of me doesn't matter. Those evenings taught me that whatever is happening, I should trust myself to do what I can do well. Learning to trust others came later but was just as essential as learning to trust myself; until I learned to trust those around me I was socially and emotionally uncomfortable and unable to adjust to the changes that were happening to and around me. This attitude of trusting those around me to do what they do best, and trusting myself to do what I do best, has been one around which I've tried to build my fledgling adulthood. At first this was an idea, over time I've had to live to up to it to succeed. After two years of trying and doing rather badly, as a debater, I finally decided to trust myself to do well and I finally did. At school and outside, the example of the characters on The West Wing were an inspiration. They were role models, friends, teachers, and sometimes examples of what not to do. They handled themselves with the honesty and -sometimes- the grace I still believe all leaders should have. They were idealized, but they are the ideal for which I aim. Whenever I lose hope for our human race -or the new fall television schedule-, I look to The West Wing for reassurance, because whatever happens, Josh, Donna, C.J., Toby, Sam, Leo, Margret, and President Bartlet will always await me at my local Blockbuster or on my movie shelf to show me what leaders -and people- should really be like.
I still want to be a part of the political process. The message of The West Wing was that with a little luck and a lot of talent, a person from any background, gender, or age can make a difference for the better. Anyone can fight injustice and ignorance while being true to her convictions. The show depicted people who said, “This is what I believe and what I am willing to do.” They weren't perfect, but they were honorable, and they tried, and that was enough. That is what inspires me most and what caused me, as a shy middle schooler, to desire the role of the President of the United States.
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