How many of you have seen Star Wars? Talking about the first three movies, most of us would probably consider the Jedi the good ones in the story and the Sith the evil, am I right? But why? Jedi and Sith both have caused harm and suffering, and it’s not like the Sith do what they do out of pure evil. They do it because they think (for whatever reasons) it’s the right thing, even though for us, it’s clearly wrong. But we’re not objective. The creators of the movies lead us towards supporting the Jedi, and we are convinced to be on the good side of this. That goes for a lot of other topics as well.

Let me give you another example. This summer, Hungary’s government passed a controversial LGBTQ law. As a response, the Allianz Arena was supposed to shine in rainbow colors during the soccer match between Germany and Hungary at the Euros. However, the FIFA forbade it because it was considered a political statement. That’s when I thought: “Hold on, this has nothing to do with politics. Equality and acceptance for people of all sexualities should be something we all stand for.” Of course, I’m convinced that I’m right because it’s my opinion. But this is subjective. Apparently, other people have a different point of view. 

How can I claim they are wrong? Do I ever have the right to claim my opinion to be the right or obvious one? Is there even a right or wrong in any situation? At what point can something be seen as obviously right, looking at it objectively? When it’s written down as a law? Where is the line? Is there a line?

I haven’t found my answer to these questions yet. What I realized though, is that it’s important to always remember that there is more than black and white and that it’s always a matter of perspective.

Lea Okkels is not an ordinary danish girl. At the age of 19 years, she has already experienced more than most young people. Let me introduce her to you.

Lea was born on September 3rd of 2001, near Copenhagen, Denmark. Back there, she was living together with her younger sister, her mother, and her cat Simba. Even though her sister is her only biological sibling, she considers a boy living on another floor of the house they’ve been living in a big brother.

Lea has always had a passion for sports. She has played soccer for several years and is a huge fan of FC Barcelona. In addition, she loves to watch Formula 1, where she supports McLaren as a team. Because of that, she’d like to be a sports journalist in the future.

When Lea was still going to school in Denmark, she decided to spend a high school exchange year in the US, which she ended up spending in Fountain, Colorado. People usually think it must have been the best year of her life, but the truth is, even though she “feel[s] like she grew” from the experience, there have been downsides for her. Talking about her exchange year, she states: “I didn’t get to be the real me because my host family was so far from what I am as a person.”

Yet, she has decided to come back to the US just a few years later. Why? “To play soccer and study at the same time”, Lea says. Tom Maxon, Head Coach of Morningside University’s women’s soccer team, convinced Lea to join Morningside and the team in the fall term of 2021. So, although Lea’s journey has started a while ago, she’s still just at the beginning of it with, hopefully, four of the most exciting years of her life just in front of her.