My name is Amy Kent. I’m sixteen, and I go to a private school. I like art a lot. I can't wait to get out of school so I can start doing what I love. I have an older brother, Brian, who's a seventeen-year-old juvenile delinquent. Then there's my sister, Lauren, who is twenty. She is carefree and proud of what she does.  

We live on Ive Street. Our house is white with brown shutters, and it has a garden in the front. My father is an accountant who works at the town bank and other offices that need him. My mother is a housewife, but she often fills her day with seeing her friends and getting involved with various organizations. To be honest, there’s nothing for her to do at home since my siblings and I and can take care of ourselves.  

"Good news! We received more sponsors," Lauren says when she gets home from work. She joins me at the kitchen table where I'm doing homework. She is always excited about what she and the other young women are doing for women's suffrage.  

"When are you gonna stop spending all day on something that will never happen and get a proper career? Or why don't you just settle down and have some kids?" Brian says from the living room. He is comfortably stretched out on the couch, reading a book.  

"Do you really think that women will be able to vote someday?” I ask my sister.  

"Yes, I do," she tells me confidently. She takes out the two clips that were holding her hair up. Her dark brown hair falls past her shoulders.

"By that she means, 'no, I do not think that women will be able to vote,'" Brian says.  

“Brian, would you just shut up?" my sister asks, annoyed.  

“Lauren, do you want any help at the office on Saturday?" I ask.   

“Sure, if mom and dad say it's okay," she replies. "Oh, Amy, if mom and dad ask why I’m not here by the time they get home, it's because I’m going out with Keith tonight," Lauren says before heading upstairs.  

"Hey, Ame," Brian calls from the living room, "can you get me something to drink?"  

"Can’t you see I’m doing homework?"  

“Can’t you see I’m reading? Besides, you're closer to the kitchen," Brian argues.  

Instead of fighting with him, I get up and grab the first beverage I find. I bring it to him and sit down on the couch. "Brian, what are you reading?" I ask.  

“A book." 

“Well, thank you, Mr. Obvious. What is it about?"   

"Stuff you probably wouldn't be into," he says, letting out a sigh.  

“And by that you mean it's filled with foul language, pornography, and violence?"  

He answers with a loud burp, then silence.  

“You know," I continue, "I still can't understand how you are going away to college to be a doctor. You act like an eight-year-old."  

“And I can't understand how you plan on making art part of your life plan. I mean, it's easy for you girls: just find a rich, handsome man, get married, have some kids, and then teach them the cycle," he retorts.  

Brian's words strike a nerve. I take my homework upstairs to my room and lock the door. Why would I want to be a housewife? I'm not even sure I want to get married. I hope he didn’t mean it, though. I never understand Brian. He can do and say the meanest, rudest things, but I can never stay mad at him. I hate the feeling I get when I am mad at him. Brian is always the one to be a smarty pants, but he is always there when you need him, at least for me, since he and I are just one year apart. Brian and Lauren are always fighting. They can never get along. 

I guess you can say that I keep the peace. I always have been and probably always will be the family peacekeeper.  

The next day at school, everyone is excited about who will be nominated for the community service committee. To some people, it is just a test to see who is popular and who isn’t, but it is more than that to me.  

“Okay, everyone, please take your seats,” Mrs. Williams says. “We will be starting with the committee nominations. I would like to remind you all that these nominations should be honest in who you think would make a great president and leader for this year’s progress.”  

I have always wondered what it would be like to be in charge of something. Only boys have been nominated for these things in school. I see my friend Jamie roll her eyes as Mrs. Williams reviews the criteria for being a good leader. I bet that those who are nominated won’t have even one characteristic of a great leader.  

“Alright,” Mrs. Williams says, “who would like to start the nominations?”  

“I nominate Mathew Jenkins,” a boy named Christopher says, standing up from his desk.

Great, starting with the popularity vote. Mathew Jenkins is not the least bit concerned about helping out in the community. He thinks he’s so important and special because his parents are rich. My opinion is that Mathew Jenkins is a complete louse.  

“I second that,” Hannah Gordon states, standing as well. Of course girlfriend number twenty of Mathew Jenkins votes for her stuck-up boyfriend.  

“This is so pathetic,” I whisper to Jamie.  

“You think?” she says. “He can’t win. We need someone who is fair, honest, and smart.”  

“I totally agree, but who in this class is all of those things?”  

“How about you?” Jamie asks, looking at me slyly.  

“Are you crazy?” I say in disbelief. I can’t believe Jamie thinks I can be a leader.  

“How hard could it be?” she says, standing up. “I nominate Amy Kent,” Jamie says boldly with a big smile on her face. Everyone looks at me, and I feel my face get red. I bet most of these people don’t even know I exist.  

“You can’t nominate a girl!” Mathew yells from across the room.  

“Now, wait, this is a co-educational private school. There are no rules saying that females can’t vote or be nominated,” Mrs. Williams says.  

This leads to a thunder of whispers and grumbles. Jamie is still standing, waiting for someone to second the nomination. If no one does, I will be forever humiliated.  

“I second it,” a quiet voice says from behind us.  

It is Candice Mills. I’m so relieved. My heart starts to beat at a regular pace again. Mathew, along with a lot of the other boys, grumbles and complains.  

“Will there be any other nominations for committee leader?" Mrs. Williams asks. Silence fills the classroom. It is only Mathew and me. “Then let class begin,” Mrs. Williams says.  

After class, as we are dismissed, we all rush out of the door and into the hallway.  

“Don’t think for one second you will win this campaign. No one is going to vote for you,” Mathew says before he walks off with the rest of his posse.     

I have never felt so offended in my life. I have always been the type of person to be in the background. I have never really been noticed. Now I have two weeks to campaign, all thanks to my wonderful friend Jamie, who honestly just wanted to start trouble.  

When I get home, Brian is already there and has locked himself in his room. I am unsure if he is mad at me or if he is just too embarrassed to be around me. I doubt it will last for long, though. In the meantime, I start drafting posters and thinking of slogans for my campaign. I decide that if I’m going to do this, I am going to do it right. 

The next morning is just as normal as any other weekend. My parents sleep in, and Brian has already left the house to go hang out with his friends by the time I wake up.  

I get ready for the chaos that is waiting for me at my sister’s suffrage office. So much happens down there. There are papers to write and sign, posters to be made for the parades and marches, and sponsors and members to speak with. I know that it isn’t going to be an easy day.  

When I enter the office around nine o’clock, everything is already up and running. Many of the people who work there are young. The oldest is only twenty-seven. My sister and her other friends decided to create this organization when they found out what Susan B. Anthony and the other suffragists were doing. Although many people in our city don’t agree with it, they’ve done nothing to stop the suffragists. Some want to be a part of it but are either scared or embarrassed. Others just don’t want women to have equal rights.  

Personally, I don't know what they are afraid of. There’s nothing wrong with women being able to vote and have a say in the places we live. My mother thinks women's suffrage is good when it doesn’t become chaotic or violent. She’s not too sure if she will be able to vote one day, but she says that if it ever happens, she will gladly take advantage of the right.  

My brother thinks the men in this country would never allow such a big leap in society, so he thinks it’s just a waste of time. I don’t know how my father feels about it. He has always allowed me and my siblings to do things that we felt were right and important to us.  

Lauren sits me at an empty desk and has me put together fliers to hang up around town. “Would you like me to go with you?” Lauren asks awhile later as I get ready to leave.  

“No, I’ll be fine. I should be back in a while,” I say, heading out of the door.  

Saturdays are always busy and crowded. Today is no different. Everyone is shopping and going out. Some people are still working or running errands. I stop at a wood pole and hang up a flier about a public speaking event two weeks from now.  

“I’m not surprised,” says a familiar voice behind me. I turn to see Matthew staring at me hatefully. “Suffrage? Are you kidding me? Is that why you’re running for president? You’ll make a fool out of yourself. You’re a girl. No one in their right mind will vote for you.”  

“Well, then it looks like there will be no president because anybody in their right mind wouldn’t vote for you either,” I say, putting the poster up and looking at it with satisfaction.  

“You’re gonna regret this,” he says before walking off. 

 “'What is defeat? Nothing but education. Nothing but the first step to something better.' Wendell Phillips,” I state proudly. That is the quote my grandmother used to tell me.  

Now I have a reason to finish this campaign. There is not going to be a defeat without me giving it my all. If I don’t win and become the president, oh well. I am going to prove that girls are just as important and equal as boys, except for people like Mathew. I will never go down to his level.