Consider it handled.

Once in class, my professor asked us all one question. What was our dream job? Considering it was a theory of persuasion class, there were some pretty interesting answers. While some wanted to grow up and travel the world, others wanted to be musicians. Someone wanted to be a “corrupt lawyer”. Another person wanted to collect the sweat of famous athletes, sell it on eBay, and make a fortune. As for me, I put a lot of thought into my answer. When my professor called my name, I said I wanted to be Olivia Pope. My professor just kind of gave me a look of puzzlement and then continued on with the list of names.

Okay, I get that it’s pretty much impossible to be a fictitious character, but why can’t I aspire to be Olivia Pope? For those who haven’t seen the hit show Scandal, I’ll break her character down real quick. Pope works in the communications department of the White House and owns a crisis management firm. Pope fixes problems ranging from sex scandals and local neighborhood issues to government conspiracies and kidnappings. Just the mention of her name can cause fear for people who do wrong and reassurance for people who need her help. Olivia Pope is gorgeous, quick thinking, and has an incredible gut sense.

Now why do I want to be Olivia Pope? I want to be Olivia Pope because her character (and the person she was based off of) stands for everything that I aspire to be. As a woman in an incredibly competitive and intense field, Pope shows that it’s possible for women to be successful. My dream has always been to become a success in the crisis communications field and by channeling my inner Olivia Pope, I think it’s possible. She doesn’t let gender stop her and has little time for people who think women can’t get the job done. My goal is to help change the 3%. I want to see more women in executive roles in firms and I’m sick of people telling me that I can’t handle the competitive field of advertising because I’m a woman. Olivia doesn’t stand for it and neither will I.

Watching Olivia Pope in Scandal has also shown me how to deal with people who try to tear you down. No matter what you do or how old you are, someone out there is always going to try to tear you down. In this situation, I see only two ways to deal with it: cry and let it get to you or use it as motivation. Olivia Pope uses it as motivation. She has become the constant reminder for me that sometimes criticism can be the best motivation. Instead of letting the criticism about a specific client get to her, she uses it to keep going and successfully finish her case. I want to be the best at what I do and I want to be successful. To get there, I’ll have to deal with criticism, doubt, and competition. I can’t let that stop me and I can’t let it get to my head. I have to be like Olivia Pope, power through, and prove them wrong.

I want to change the 3% and I want to make a difference in the advertising field. So yes professor, my dream job is to become Olivia Pope.