When she’s not fulfilling her duties as a sophomore student at Harvard University, 19-year-old Amanda Gorman moonlights as a poet, and a really good one too. In fact, she was the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate. Her work eschews fast-paced news splashes and focuses more thoughtfully on social issues and historical movements.
“I want to create poems that stand the test of time and counter the fragmented news culture of today,” Gorman told the New York Times.
Her recent poem, ‘We the People’, reminds us that to love a country is to hold it accountable for its actions.
“We the people are brave enough to love this country’s creed
We the people love this country enough to question its misdeeds
We the people question enough to build upon this foundation
We the people erect an improved hilltop of a nation”
Other notable achievements include becoming a youth delegate for the United Nations at the age of 16, and She the People—a VR project aimed at promoting empathy. Oh, and she’s planning on becoming the President. No joke.
“This is a long, long, faraway goal, but 2036 I am running for office to be president of the United States,” she told the New York Times. “So you can put that in your iCloud calendar.”
What else is Amanda up to? Head to her website to find her social and plenty of inspiration.
Thank you to @studybreaks mag for having me on your cover for this Feb issue. 
by @makeitriel and writing by Shashank Rao. Visit studybreaks.com for more!Feature photo by Anna Zhang.
