Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Princess Nokia are inspiring young voters just a day before the election. In a candid conversation in partnership with Rolling Stone and Stacey Abrams's Fair Fight Action, the Bronx natives — who jokingly called themselves twins — sat down over Zoom on Nov. 2 to chat about the condescension towards young people in politics, how their roots have influenced their work in both political and cultural spaces, and dealing with toxicity and bullying in their respective industries.
"You're either going to believe all of these horrible things about you or you're going to choose yourself and you're going to believe in yourself."
In a particularly inspirational moment, the congresswoman offered sound advice for handling the vitriol and criticism that both she and Nokia have faced. "You're either going to believe all of these horrible things about you or you're going to choose yourself and you're going to believe in yourself," AOC said as she opened up about the bullying she's experienced. "You're going to choose yourself, and that just automatically disqualifies all the haters," she continued. "You don't have to prove your worth to anybody. You don't need to be anything to be worthy."
Following the uplifting discussion, the two, who relate as young women from the Bronx now in influential positions, also urged people to cast their votes on Election Day. "In many ways, it's a small gesture, but it is a powerful gesture," said the congresswoman. "So make sure we all turn out to vote and stand in your power." Check out their conversation in full above.