Alyssa Blaise a freelance journalist
I live in San Francisco, California. I am 26 years old. I went to Princeton University and I have no children. My job really does not permit. I am currently working as a freelance journalist, however I wasn't always like this. As a kid I was not wealthy I grew up seeing me Father sick, having had cancer, and my Mom constantly having to take care of him. His medications were very expensive, which caused our lack of wealth. However I never really disliked my Father for this. I love him and that will never change, but his sickness did cause life to be hard. When I was in high school I had to work so that I could help my parents pay off the bills. This was very difficult for me, because I was juggling work and school at the same time. I tried my best to get good grades so that I could get a scholarship and I succeeded in this by receiving a full scholarship to Princeton University. When I first started working as a freelance journalist in 2010 I was 24. I had my first trip and it was to Yemen to cover a story about the starting of the Arab Spring. Since it was my first story I was able to bring family along. Therefore, I brought my Mom, Dad, and 2 year old sister along. I definitely regret this decision up to today. The anti-american rallies were horrendous. All of a sudden my family and I caught ourselves in the middle of one. I held my sisters hand trying to get through the the stampede of people when all of a sudden I could not feel her grip anymore. I had lost her in the crowd. When I went back to the area I found her dead. She was either beaten or trampled to death. Ever since then I haven't had the guts to go back to Yemen, however this last week I did go to cover a story on the progress. Truly, it has not changed. I want a leader that will not be afraid to directly address the Arab Spring and help us to stop it immediately. I would hate to see other people go through what I had to with my sister. I am fighting for their freedom and for my sister. Not only do we have to help these people, but we need to show them that Americans are kind and treat them as equal citizens. We need to be good role models and help them, because freedom is very important