Fearless: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

**Disclaimer: This article is completely based on this political figure's accomplishments, not on our political beliefs**

On 8:59 on June 26, 2018, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made history as the youngest person to ever serve on the United States Congress. To the outsider, her rise from a waitress to U.S representative may seem sudden, however the seeds for her political success were planted long before her election to Congress.

AOC was born on October 13, 1989, to Sergio Ocasio and Blanca Ocasio-Cortez. Even as a teenager, Alexandria was never afraid to express her political opinions. “There was nobody who could shut her up,” said her mother, Blanca Ocasio-Cortez to the New York Times. “I saw the political tendencies since she was very, very young.”

Alexandria grew up in the neighbor of Parkchester until she was 5, where they then moved to the neighborhood Yorktown Heights. Growing up, Alexandria’s family didn’t have a ton of money, but her parents thought that education was important, so they saved up their money to be able to move to Yorktown Heights because it had better schools. In school, she was a devoted student of science and originally planned to become a doctor. She won second place a science fair competition in her senior year of high school and went on to major in international relations and economics at Boston University.

But during her sophomore year, tragedy struck. In 2008, father Sergio Ocasio died of lung cancer. Determined to not let this deter her, AOC focused on her academics more than ever. She only took a week off school. “She jumped from having good grades to being on the dean’s list,” her mother said.

After spending a semester in Niger, West Africa, to learn about its economy, she came back to the United States and worked with US senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts. However, Alexandria soon found that grassroots politics seemed to work better for her. She began speaking up for better childhood education, worked as a organizer for the Bernie Sanders campaign, and protested the Dakota Access Pipeline being built. AOC caught the attention of Brand New Congress, a progressive grassroots organization, that asked her to run for representative against Republican Candidate Joseph Crowley.

AOC’s biggest advantage was that she knew the area she was running for. She had grown up there her entire life and 70% of the people that lived in the area were people of color. Her campaign method mostly consisted of door-to-door canvassing, phone calls, and a large social media campaign.

On Tuesday, the crucial moment arrived. On the car ride to her watch party, AOC promised that she wouldn’t check the returns. When they arrived, AOC saw the headline - she had won 78% of the vote.

“So I just started running,” she said. “I literally ran and I busted through the doors.”

And it seems that after that, she has never stopped. A few months into her candidacy she proposed the Green New Deal, which called for the country to use only renewable sources for the next twelve years, a resolution that would help combat climate change, fair wages, and education.

The first time AOC visited the capital, her father told her, “You know, this is our government. All of this belongs to us.”

Regardless of your political stance, it’s impossible not to admire the determination of Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. She is not only a congresswoman, but a political hero for the next generation, inspiring them to rise up and follow in her footsteps. To remind them that this is our government.