My Hope in This New Wave
And What It Means For You, Too
My Dad grew up as an only child with a single mother when it was still deemed taboo to be a single mother. He became one of the most influencial and inspiring community leaders not just to me, but for my hometown.
I played softball growing up, and I was honestly pretty good at it. I don’t know if that had anything to do with my Dad deciding to become assistant coach of both my and my sister’s softball teams, but I was always grateful because it made me better. I like to think it made my sister better, too.
My Dad knew how to lead with integrity. He pushed me to be the best I could, while often arguably giving more attention and leadership to everyone else on the team to show me and my sister were not more important than anyone else.
He’d come to our practices on the weekends. He’d head straight to our games right after work where he was the Vice President of Compliance at Fidelity, a role that was rare during the time of Finance in the 90’s and 00's.
His responsibilities included monitoring and auditing internal brokers while ensuring the governance and compliance of transactions, investments, and index funds across the board. With his expertise, I was blessed enough to also learn how to save money, invest at an early age, and how to establish great credit.
When times were hard for me growing up, my Dad actively listened to me while giving support, but also gave important character-building lessons. He taught me to stand up for myself and not accept negativity from bullies. He encouraged me to keep my internal fire that I was born with and that with it, I could end up in any space or leadership role if I so chose.
He understood what it meant to challenge someone’s beliefs, while also understanding the importance of personal opinion. If someone were to share their opinions at the family Holiday table, for example, the only time you’d hear him speak was to ask them questions on why they thought what they did.
I grew up watching him humble even one feisty family member with a very hard-leaning progressive mindset, and why some of his opinions blindsided him from seeing the benefits of what some traditional (I can’t stress that word enough since I do not recognize a majority of the Republican party anymore, personally) Republican values gave to Americans.
He was a natural-born leader, an exceptional friend to everyone who knew him, a wonderful husband, and the best parent and Dad I could have ever asked for. I was so lucky to have him be a part of my life for 24 years. He’s without a doubt influenced every fiber of my being, and who I try my best to be every day.
I say this now, in this moment, because I see SO MUCH of my Dad in the exceptional man that is Tim Walz.
I’ve cried hearing him speak about keeping your opinions to yourself and keeping governments out of your doctors' offices because I know it’s what my Dad would say today if he knew that ignorant, MAGA extremists are currently trying to take away my access to birth control to manage my fibroids and heavy bleeding.
I’ve felt the endless love he gives to his children in how he speaks highly about them, how they were raised, how his son has a “secret power” in what others are quick to label as a disability, and how they brought Hope into their lives through IVF.
I’ve laughed at his moments talking about how weird the MAGA extremists have become because I can imagine my Dad wondering out loud what has happened to the Republican party as a whole and how some Republicans are choosing to vocalize their support for Democrats.
I say all of this to plead with everyone who I know personally considering voting other than Kamala Harris and Tim Walz this November:
Remember my Dad. Please. Remember the man that he was, and how you miss him. I know you do. His memorial service was jam-packed with people out the door — you don’t get that by not being an exceptional, kind, generous man.
Remember how he lead your daughters in softball. How he opted to build our hometown’s first ever recreational Softball league website for girls from scratch, since it didn’t already exist. Remember the empathy he gave to you when you needed it.
And if you didn’t know my Dad, who is that person for you? Remember them this November. Remember who you are choosing to show your kids as your country’s future role models.
I was lucky enough to have my Dad every day in our own home growing up, but many others growing up do not have that opportunity. Choose to give them someone to look up to and admire. Choose to show them what decency and empathy look like in the most powerful offices of our country.
Understand that fear in the unknown is normal, but supporting a movement in tearing others down in order to preserve what you grasp onto as your own is never any way to win. Demonstrate to your children through your ballot that you support growth and bringing others to your summit with you while you succeed (and thank you, Taylor Swift, for this sentence’s inspiration).
Ultimately, be like my Dad. Be like the one in your life who inspired you in all of the same ways. Aspire to choose decency. Encourage others while encouraging yourself.
Be the change you wish to see in the world.
