Joshua Estrada

“A mother's happiness is like a beacon, lighting up the future but reflected also on the past in the guise of fond memories.” Honoré de Balzac. Some people say that a mother is a person's first love. They provide, care, and nurture us with all they possibly can. I admire my mother for not only being the good-hearted person that she is but for taking a stand for my entire family by being the first female in my family to participate and use the privilege of voting in the United States.

My mother was born on October 11, 1983, in the border city of Laredo, Texas. Her original name, or maiden name, was Myriam Gabriella Martinez. She was the oldest of only two children that her mother had birthed. She has a sister, younger by 9 years and she was the only sibling that my mother had growing up. Growing up, my mother and her sister got along very well. Unfortunately, at the young age of 17, my mother faced a major loss because her mother, my grandma, died at the age of 56 after battling a long and courageous fight with breast cancer. This was one of the most tragic events that would soon mold and shape the very foundation of my adult mother. This event caused my mother to mature and take the adult responsibility in her family. She took over and posed as a mother figure for my aunt and took full financial responsibility after the death of her mother. Being the “head of household”, my mother learned to do taxes, drive, pay bills and so much more all own her own. Additionally, at the age of 18, my mother decided to fulfill an American Dream and registered to vote for the next upcoming election. It wasn't until the 2004 election, between candidates George W. Bush and John Kerry that my mom finally achieved a goal that many Americans hope to someday achieve.

In conclusion, voting is a privilege that we should all be grateful for. We should also appreciate the fact that nowadays, every woman in the United States, can now participate in this event. I am also grateful and proud of the fact that my own mother not only votes but, was the first female in my family to do so.

Over the course of American history, there have been people that have helped and tried to make a difference. Whether the issue be oppression from an outside force, corruption from one's own government, or slavery, there have and will always be people to help and resolve whatever conflicts that may come into their path. One issue that plagued the early United States was suffrage, more specifically, women's suffrage. Since the beginning of civilization, women have always been perceived and thought of being less valuable than men. It's this discrimination that pushed many women to fight and try to make a difference, one of these women being Abigail Adams, the 2nd First Lady of the United States of America.

Abigail Adams, who was originally born to the name Abigail Smith, was born on November 11,1744 in Weymouth, Massachusetts. She was birthed and raised by her parents, Elizabeth Quincy Smith and William Smith. Unlike most women back then, she was educated at home and read books from the family library. At the age of 11, she and her sisters started to receive tutoring from a Mr. Richard Cranch. Through Cranch, Abigail met her future husband, John Adams. They met when Abigail was just 17 and soon fell in love. They got engaged and married on October 24, 1764 when she was 19 years old, and John, 28 years old. Together they gave birth to four children who would make it to adulthood. They were John Quincy Adams, future president of the United States, Abigail Adams Smith, Charles Adams and Thomas Boylston Adams.

During this time, the Colonies and Great Britain were not on great terms. There were many disputes and riots over policies enlisted by Great Britain to the Colonies. The Colonies thought that this was unfair and therefore engaged in riots and public displays of outbursts. In 1774, when tension between the two were at an all-time high, John Adams would then head off to Philadelphia for the First Continental Congress and leave behind Abigail. During his absence, he and Abigail would constantly write letters to each other, keeping each other up on what was going on between the two of them and the country. Abigail strongly supported independence from Great Britain and argued that women should also have equal representation in this new form of independence which they were about to declare. During the Second Continental Congress, Abigail Adams wrote perhaps her most prominent letter to John Adams on March 31, 1776, from their home in Braintree, Massachusetts. In this letter, her most well-known quote, “Remember the ladies” is mentioned and elaborated. She urged her husband, John Adams, to remember to include women in the new form of government that they were creating. She argued that women should have equal representation in government and that they should be educated as well as men. Upon receiving this letter, John Adams somewhat ignored it and replied in a joking manner, which only enraged Abigail.

All in all, the Colonies would soon become an independent nation and be named, The United States of America. And although women were not included in the new form of government, Abigail did not stop fighting for women rights. She continued to write and speak on behalf of the advocacy for women's rights. She would not live to see the election of her son John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, as she died at home in October 1818, at the age of 73. Abigail Adams was more than just a person. She was an inspiration for many women to come. She served as one of the first steps towards equality for women. Although it did not happen in her life time, I'm sure that she would be most pleased on how far along women equality has come, compared to her lifetime.

When going through my mother's family history, I was astonished as to what I found. I never knew how much of a struggle my mom went through. Additionally, when going through the history of women's voting, I was astonished as well. This was because I was surprised as to how much trouble all women went through, trouble not only in voting but living in their everyday lives. 

The assertion that men were superior to women and therefore not given the right to vote was not only unjust but, wrong in all moral values. We have the strong independent woman that fought for this privilege to thank for all they did. Without the help of these woman, we would still believe in this false idea that they are less than their opposite sex and therefore not granted suffrage. I say that voting is a privilege because not all people in this world are granted this blessing. Some are forced by will, to do and believe in certain ways. They aren't given the right to free thought or will. They are threatened with their life to do, say, and think in certain ways that the "authority” wants. When you vote, you are being granted a choice to decide who or what you want to represent or be represented by. 

Voting allows a system to be constructed and to always be changing. It allows for things to change as time passes. People, ideas, and ways will never stay the same. As time passes, it allows for new things to be brought out. It allows things to be adaptive as the society that we are move further along for the better. If something is wrong or unjust, voting grants the right to change said issue or issues.