The number one question that the youth of every generation has been asked is “What do you want to be when you grow up?” For most children, it is a firefighter, astronaut, or a doctor. But for a few people such as Joe Biden, that answer is simple: President. Every president is different, every president has a story, but what did Joe Biden do to become president?
Step One: Assemble your Team!
Throughout his life, Joe Biden had people standing right behind him whether it was his parents’, wife and children, or colleagues they always had his back through the good and the bad. His very first campaign manager when he was running for Senate was his own sister. With her help, as well as everyone else around him, Joe Biden had a successful campaign and won the Senate seat in 1972 making him the 5th youngest member of the Senate in US history. He then learned from his time in the office with Barack Obama that teamwork truly makes the dream work and that he will only be as successful if those around him have his back.
Step Two: Have a Plan.
Most great outcomes always start with an idea for Joe Biden. That idea was to help others whether it was as a son, lawyer, politician, or a father; Joe Biden’s plan all along was that he wanted to help others. Even when he was at his lowest in life after the loss of his first wife, daughter, and first-born son Beau, Joe Biden devoted the rest of his career to aiding others and doing his duty to make the world and his country a better place. Biden’s current wife Dr. Jill Biden, is an educator who works with military families and those battling cancer through all the hardships that life may throw at them. Both Jill and Joe have worked to create the Biden Cancer Initiative and Biden Foundation in memory of Beau, who passed away of severe brain cancer.
Step Three: Work Hard, Play Harder.
Even though he started law and politics at a very young age, Joe Biden never struggled to have time for both work and his family. It is very clear in his speeches that his family means everything to him and every decision that he makes is with his loved ones in mind. His time in office as vice president truly showed his ability to manage his time wisely. Now as President, Joe Biden can now once again prove to the world that working hard does lead to playing harder.
Step Four: Treat Others the Way You Want to be Treated.
One of Biden’s missions throughout his time in the government, and now currently as the 46th President of the United States, is to end systemic racism against people of color, discrimination against members of the LGBTQ community, and to combat all forms of hatred within our nation. In Biden’s second debate for the 2020 election, he was asked a question by a mother of a transgender child, who was concerned by the prior administration’s attacks on the LGBTQ community. She asked, “How will you as president reverse this dangerous and discriminatory agenda and ensure that the lives and rights of LGBTQ people are protected under U.S. law?” Biden responded with “I will flat out just change the law.” Anyone can do this, not just presidents, if you see an issue or a hardship in your life, change it.
Step Five: Never Give Up
No matter what life throws at you or where it takes you, never give up. For a man who has seen many forms of tragedy, for example, losing his loved ones and feeling like the world was against him for his beliefs, Joe Biden never gave up. He kept pushing, making change, helping others and now he is in the highest position in all the land. Biden has proven that with hard work, determination, drive, and respect for others, anybody can make their dreams come true.
Joe Biden set the guidelines for following your dreams. Through determination, drive, and passion, anyone can achieve their goals. Now ask yourself once again, what do you want to be when you grow up?
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Cover picture provided by BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-53575474