by A.E.McGrath

Created on: May 11, 2008

It was 1976, and I was a first grader who enjoyed reading, writing, and recess. The election between incumbent Gerald Ford and recent Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter was at a frenzied peak. I remember swinging on the monkey bars at my Southeastern VA elementary school and seeing a plain green sign with Carter: President embossed in plain white letters. Yes, at age 6 I watched the evening news with John Chancellor with my parents. They taught me to take an interest in local, nation, and international news at an early age.

Watergate taught me about the government, but it was Jimmy Carter who ignited my passion for politics. I remembered being the only fifth grader to reelect Carter in 1980 in a school election. He was a nice man, I thought. The President got a bad reputation for things beyond control, like the Hostages in Tehran, the Allatoyah, and the gas shortage. He and I lost the election. Carter's life beyond the White House years just reinforced everything my parents taught me. Three important lessons I learned from the President coincided with my life lessons from Mom and Daddy-becoming the best, maintaining a close relationship with God, and helping others in need.

As a double minority-an African American female, I soon discovered I had to excel further than my contemporaries in every endeavor. I was an average elementary, middle, and high school student but excelled in three classes: English, history and band. By high school, I was very active in the band and represented my schools in regional and state competitions. I wanted to study music at the Conservatory and perform in the state symphony. I practiced two hours everyday for 6 days a week, instead of one like other classmates. I represented my family, school, African Americans and women, whenever I played my bass clarinet in symphonic competition, marched on the football field with the B flat, or gracefully shared the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" solo with a section mate. Jimmy Carter wrote a book called Why Not Be the Best?, which I later read in college. There it credited his achievements-a top ten student at the Naval Academy, his work with Admiral Rickover, and as a governmental representative-as hard work and a living representative of God. Of course, I changed my mind by senior year of high school and planned to major in broadcasting. Two years later, I majored in history and political science. I wanted to become a lawyer. Still, Jimmy Carter's "Why not be the best?" philosophy fueled my

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