You may see my bio and say "She's at Villanova University, why is she complaining about not having a good education?", and that's fair. But, while I may be at Villanova now, I'm an Okie through and through. Having been born and raised in Oklahoma, and, given that my little brother is in the school system now, I've been closely following everything that's been happening in light of the teacher walk out.

For those of you who haven't heard, let me give you a brief synopsis. In the last decade, funding for education in Oklahoma has dropped 28%.

Teachers' pay hasn't changed in just as long, but they are still required to take their own money to supply their classrooms. Books are falling apart and say that Clinton or Bush is still president, classrooms are crammed full, some kids not even having desks, and the list goes on and on. Pay for support staff, like paras for differently abled students, is even more dismal. Tired of these conditions, teachers planned statewide walkouts and haven't been to school since April 2nd.

Teachers took to the capitol, some even making the walk from Tulsa to Oklahoma City, an hour and 45-minute drive.

As I sit here writing this, the teachers continue to hold out for change. There was already a change to the budget that added $50 million to the education budget, which seems like a lot, but that's not enough to even buy one textbook for each student. It seems like there is no end in immediate sight as both sides hold firm, but a majority of the state seems to support our teachers.

I was lucky enough to attend private school, so I didn't face many of these issues, but I've seen the degree to which they affect our school systems. My little brother is a part of the Special Education system and I've watched as people who are trying to change lives are barely given a livable wage, and it's an embarrassment. My friends up here are starting to hear about the issue as it gains national attention, and they are baffled at the state of the education system, even just in comparison to their own.

We sit here and wonder why Oklahoma is ranked so low among the United States in education. We barely pay our teachers a livable wage, and, on top of that, they have to often pay for their own supplies. We need to wake up and realize that these men and women hold our future in our hands. I fully support the thousands gathered at the capitol in hopes of change.

I want to extend a thank you to all the teachers I've had over the years who shaped me into the person I am today. Without you teachers, I wouldn't be half the young woman I am today, and I owe everything I do in the future to what you've taught me both about your subjects and life.

A good education should be a God-given right, not a privilege. As Mustafa Kemal Atatürk once said "A good teacher is like a candle — it consumes itself to light the way for others." Our teachers may be the ones marching, but it's up to us to support them in this journey. They do so much to change the world, and we've done little to repay them. It is us up to us to make sure that teachers know how much of a blessing they truly are.