Growing up, I have been lucky enough to have a family full of strong women who have helped me become one. They encouraged me to do whatever I put my mind to. As a white person, I had the privilege of growing up watching actors on shows that look like me and reading books on characters that also look like me. But the impact that Kamala Harris has had on me in the last two weeks is unmeasurable compared to my mom, aunts, cousins or favorite show telling me I can do anything I want. Kamala Harris is the first Asian, Black woman in the White House. This is not something that could happen later on or in a fictional book, it is something happening in the real world, right now.

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When Hillary Clinton lost in 2016, it felt like a huge “could have been” situation. Even though she became the first woman to represent a major party on the presidential ballot, she could have been the first female president. This past summer when Joe Biden picked Harris to be his Vice President, I prepared myself for another “could have been” situation. But now that Biden and Harris have won, I can see myself represented in the White House but a true real-life barrier has been broken. I can not only see myself represented in the White House, it is possible not just in books and movies, but in real life to break barriers. She has shown me the dreams I have don’t have to remain as dreams, but they truly are possible.

As a white person thinking about the emotion and meaning of Harris being the first Asian and Black woman in the White House, it is something I can only understand from an outside perspective. Having Harris in the White House finally allows for the representation of those who built the country from the ground up— black and minority women. I also believe that the  nomination of Harris shows the strides our country has continued to make in a time that feels so scary and in many ways like the world is moving backwards for so many.

For me, Harris becoming vice president-elect shows me one thing: hope. I see hope for girls all around the United States and their big dreams, and I see hope that someday people will all be equal regardless of what they look like. I see hope for anyone that has anything to hope for.