Tabitha Roberts

I would first attribute where I am to God, because I believe there was a divine intervention that happened to have me be where I am through the biological process. But I also attribute my success to my community - the people in my life that have shaped my life. I was thinking about this one individual who tried to discourage me years ago as a teenager, and what might have meant to discourage me kind of became something that pushed me to not end up being like everybody else, to be able to see the signs and run away from them, and to tell myself that I can be something different. My mother, who might not have had the opportunities that I have now, believed that I can be more than what I am right now, more than where I am right now. There were women around me who were able to see potential before I even did - I did not even believe that I could, but they were able to create that space that cultivated and nurtured it to become something very tangible today. So I attribute my success to God, my community, and also just my own resilience as a young person - I have a fighting spirit, I do not back down from things. If it's not working, I take a pause and ask myself what am I doing right and what am I not doing right. I think my courage to face life as it is, but also having this stupid hope - I call it stupid hope because sometimes you realize, is it even possible what I'm thinking? But just having been very foolish to believe that one day everything might come together and it will be exactly as I have imagined.

When I made the decision to change my career path from pursuing a program that would have enabled me to become a doctor, I remember talking to my mentor and she told me that being a doctor is cool, it's really awesome, and society recognizes that as a great achievement. But inasmuch as it might give you income and the kind of honor and recognition that society gives to those careers, you should also know that the person doing that job is you. If you do not find joy in what you do, and if what you do does not change and impact the life of another person, even yourself, if you cannot get pleasure and fulfillment for what you do, then do not continue it, because what we do isn't just a profession, it's a way of life. Despite a lot of complaint and dissatisfaction from family, extended family, and my own parents, I think those words really held me up - that I chose this path not because I just want to occupy a space in society, but I also want to make an impact. And if it gives me joy seeing even one person's life transformed, then I should do it. When she told me that if I don't find joy in it, it would be fake, that really changed my whole perspective about a career. I know there are other things you can do as a profession, but the one that you really feel called to should be something that you are able to look back at and say, yes, that was worth it.

I would say, I think we all have heard this quote that the world is a stage, and because it is a stage, I imagine it to be like a kind of theater where actors are given roles to play. But I don't think that should be the end of that quote. I think inasmuch as the world is a stage and everyone is given their part to play, male or female, I think we also have the ability to create and to decide what we want to act out on that stage. And I think that's the agency that we have within ourselves as young women. We have the ability to dream, and we also have the potential to make those dreams become reality. We should never stop dreaming - and when I talk about dreaming, I do not mean to just think within one's head, but to think about those ideas and to also seek out the resources that may be within reach and even out of reach. I think there's a lot out there, and sometimes you may not see it because the environment blocks it. So I think we should never stop fighting, never stop dreaming, and never stop daring. As Leymah Gbowee once said, we should never walk on tiptoes because we are supposed to step and leave footprints behind. And that's what we should do and keep on doing until we can achieve that.

I think within my context, the biggest challenge will be leadership - the vision that they have and how those visions impact, whether positively or negatively, the lives of people across every age group or sector. We have a leadership challenge, especially in Africa, in my own country Liberia. I think we have a lot of human resources, we have a youthful population, we have the resources to help us, but the lack of leadership to really steer that is the problem. But I think within this challenge is also opportunity. That opportunity is how we are able to hold people accountable, and how we are able to reassess how we elect people that steer the affairs of our society, and how we are able to come together and unify as young people to have one voice and speak with one voice and have a vision that is clear and be able to communicate that. I also believe that another opportunity that exists is that we can form partnerships with each other to be able to see changes in some areas that we would like to. It shouldn't be about competition - I kind of see a lot of young people competing with each other, even in advocating and all of those things. No, we should see each other as partners instead of competition.

I would say dignity, the recognition of the dignity of everybody. Unlike respect that has to be earned, I think dignity is something that we are born with, and no matter our status, no matter our origin or where we come from, it is inherent. Most of the time, all of the time, when I see a person, I do not just see them, I also foresee the dignity that they have. And that value has helped me to work with different people, to interact with different people, and to see them as fully human and not half human. Another value that I cherish is honesty, because I think when we hide or refuse to show who we really are, it confuses people, it makes things unclear, and it also impacts us in negative ways. So just doing things with integrity, with honesty, and with a lot of intentionality for me are key values to have. Also communication - listening, not just being the one to speak, but also having the ability to value listening to other people and the insights that they bring. I think when we listen instead of filling every space with something to say, we are given the chance to see a new way of seeing things that we wouldn't see if we were just the ones talking all the time. Compassion also, not just for another person but compassion for oneself too - knowing and appreciating yourself when you achieve a milestone, even if it's small. Having compassion for people and the places and things they are doing. I think when we live with a lot of compassion, we are more able to experience that African phrase, the Ubuntu, that says I am because we are. And being gentle too - I have learned since being in the U.S. that being gentle with myself is self-love, that I don't have to have it all figured out and that I can make mistakes, and to also have that compassion to say that yes, other people can make mistakes and there are still rooms for growth and to believe that it's possible to experience that growth and come back stronger and better.