From Apolitical to All In: How I Found My Voice in Politics

From growing up in a small conservative town in BFE, Ohio and running away from anything related to politics to being #libbedout and co-hosting a political podcast

If you’re not new to the United SHE Stands community, this won’t surprise you. If you are new around here, you may be surprised to hear that I wasn’t always interested in politics and comfortable talking about it my whole life. This ~era~ of my life didn’t really start until a handful of years ago. If you would’ve told me 10 years ago that I’d be co-hosting a political podcast, I’d 1.) ask what a podcast is and then 2.) laugh in your face. I often say I never wanted to touch politics with a ten-foot poll. It’s crazy to think about how far I’ve come! But how did it happen? To answer that, we have to go back in time and meet childhood Sara.

I grew up in a very small town in middle-of-nowhere Ohio. I even lived on a farm for the first nine years of my life. I didn’t realize it when I was a kid, but the town was very conservative. Like had-two-Trump-parades-leading-up-to-the-2020-election type of conservative. I also grew up in the Catholic church - Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation… I went through it all. As a kid, I spent most Sunday mornings at church and/or CCD (Catholic Sunday school). I also spent most Sunday mornings trying to get out of church and/or CCD, but that’s a different story for another day.

I don’t remember my parents talking about politics a lot, but there was not a day that Fox News wasn’t on in the house, both in the mornings and evenings. Whether my parents were actively watching or just had it on in the background, if the TV was on, there was a 95% chance the channel was set to Fox 8 News.

There are two times in my childhood that I really remember talking about politics. The first was when former President Bush was elected to his second term. I was in second grade and I was close to a girl whose father loved Bush. After the election, I remember my friend coming to school and telling me how excited she was that Bush won. I immediately felt intimated because I didn’t know much about politics (I mean, I was literally seven years old) and I didn’t want her to think I was dumb. So, obviously, I was quick to agree with her and told her my parents voted for him too. I had no idea who they voted for or if they voted at all, but I wanted to avoid all the political shame, even as a second grader.

The other time I remember talking about politics is when Barack Obama was president. Specifically, when Michelle Obama (love you, Queen) started her Let’s Move! campaign and wanted schools to provide healthier lunches for their students. When a potato-based side was replaced with fruit or the school pizza changed to something less greasy, I remember everyone saying how Michelle Obama was ruining our lunches. It turned into a joke among the students and I, of course, hopped on the bandwagon of hating her initiative. It was classic peer pressure - I was in high school and I wanted to be cool and fit in. I didn’t know anything else about the Let’s Move! campaign, but it was easy for me to adopt the beliefs of those around me without seeking further information, especially when it came to politics.

I was a doormat. A doormat that would rather lay down on the ground and let people walk all over me than rock the boat in any shape or form. I was very much so this way until after college. I was an avid people-pleaser, yes-woman, and avoided confrontation like the plague.

I also hated history and social studies classes. I studied to do well on tests, then proceeded to forget most-to-all of the information I learned in these classes. I didn’t find the topics nearly as interesting as I did math and science.

To summarize: I hated hard conversations and upsetting people (still do but, ya know, I’m working on it). I didn’t care to actually absorb the information I was taught about politics and history. And, on top of all that, I was scared to talk about things I didn’t know much about because I didn’t want to look or sound dumb. Soooo, does it make sense why I never wanted to talk about politics?

This really came to light in the 2016 election. I was a sophomore in college and my roommate was really into politics and was a proud Republican. So proud that she hung a Trump yard-sign in our dorm room. At the time, I didn’t really care… I kind of thought it was funny. I didn’t have strong feelings about the 2016 election (I know I know, I’m not proud of this, especially with it being the first election a woman was on the ticket for the main two parties) because I was so uninformed on politics at that time, and so scared to get informed that I avoided talking about it as much as possible.

I planned to vote in the 2016 election, I really did. I went to the student center in between classes to vote, and I immediately bailed when I saw the line was out the door. I literally remember thinking, “Oh well, it’s not a big deal” as I turned and walked away. I was a busy college student!!! I didn’t have time to wait in line to vote for the next President of the United States!!!

YIKES. I know. I can’t even express how much shame I have for not voting in the 2016 election. I try not to yell it from the rooftops, but I think it’s an important piece of my political journey, which is why I’m sharing it with you. To be honest, I have no idea if I was even registered to vote at the time. I knew I had to be registered to vote in general, but I don’t think I knew I’d either need an absentee ballot for my hometown district or that I needed to update my registration to my college address. If I decided to stand in line and vote that day, I have no idea if I actually would’ve been able to. Yeah… that’s how out of touch I was.

During Trump’s first term, I’d hear snippets of the ridiculous things he was doing and saying. I quickly realized I didn’t like Trump and that I aligned way more with the Democratic party. During the 2020 election season, I did not hold back on sharing pro-Biden and pro-democrat posts. This was a HUGE step out of my comfort zone for me. I didn’t want people to judge me based on the political things I was sharing, but expressing my support for Biden and the Democratic party started to become more and more important to me. Thankfully, I started not to care as much about what my followers thought about the posts as the 2020 election inched closer and closer.

I was SO relieved when Biden won. I remember I was in the car with my friend when they finally announced he won enough electoral votes - we were screaming and cheering and dancing. Even then, in the pure happiness of knowing the candidate I favored won, I didn’t know much about politics. I still didn’t love talking about it. I planned on going back to avoiding it now that Trump was going to be gone.

Then, January 6th, 2021 happened. Trump and his supporters refused to believe the 2020 election was fair and that Trump lost. They believed this so deeply that they staged a coup on the U.S. government. I was appalled at all that happened that day. That’s when I realized some really bad things could happen to our government and our country. I started to wonder how I could help beyond just posting things on my Instagram story. I had no idea where to begin because, up until then, I mostly stayed as far away as possible from politics.

I was able to avoid politics for most of my life due to my privilege. I’m a white, straight, cis female. I had a parent who was able and willing to co-sign my student loans so I could go to college and further my education to set me up for a successful career and life. Back then, I didn’t realize this was privilege. Politics didn’t affect me all that much, thanks to my privilege. Therefore, I didn’t feel the need to engage in politics, thanks to my privilege. I didn’t realize I had all this privilege until the government told me I didn’t have the right to make decisions about my own body.

Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case on June 24th, 2022. Truthfully, I didn’t learn about what Roe v. Wade actually did and what rights it protected until May 2022, when the Dobbs decision was leaked. I was angry. I was FURIOUS. I could not believe the SCOTUS was about to take away the federal right to an abortion and tell me and SO MANY OTHERS what they can and can’t do with their bodies.

This was my tipping point. The point of no return. The moment I realized I couldn’t just sit back and not participate in politics any longer. Still, I wasn’t quite sure what to do and what it meant to “participate” in politics.

Then, in July 2022, Ashley approached me about starting this podcast with her to educate and empower women to get involved in politics. The timing couldn’t have been better - I was just starting to think about how I can get more involved and make a positive impact in the political landscape. But, I immediately had imposter syndrome and thought “oh I’m SO not qualified to do this”. Ashley quickly told me that was the point. The vision was to create a space where we could start from where we were and all learn together - the hosts and the listeners. Then we would all collectively feel more comfortable to engage in politics. It was obvious to us from the beginning that more women need to have a seat at the table. Our literal rights are being stripped away because there aren’t enough women engaged in politics. Once I realized how important educating myself and other women about politics was, I told Ash, “sign me up!”.

Now here we are, over two-and-a-half years and 100 episodes later. I talk about politics all the time, with and without a mic in front of me, and I couldn’t be more proud of myself. I went from being extremely intimated by politics to constantly sharing my thoughts and opinions on the topic on a freaking podcast for anyone to hear. Talk about a 180!

I wanted to share my political journey because I think many people can relate to it. Especially being scared of politics, hard conversations, confrontation, speaking up for what you believe in, etc. It’s totally valid and understandable! Please know that.

But what I also want you to take away from my journey is these barriers are really just perceived barriers. There’s nothing stopping you from learning about politics and the systems within, how to navigate difficult conversations with people you don’t agree with, or how to become an activist. I’m here to tell you that you can do it. You can get informed. You can engage. You can stand up for your beliefs. You can make a difference. You don’t have to be a political expert since birth or even since college to do it. You can start at any age, under any circumstances. Take my word for it, I did it myself!