Laissez les bon temps rouler! 
Louisiana is a vibrant state known for serving good food and a good time. But what about a good quality of life? For many Louisianians, that’s just not the case.
For three years now, the U.S. News & World Report has ranked the fifty states based on factors like the quality of healthcare, education, the economy, infrastructure and overall opportunities. In all three of the reports, the latest released in 2019, Louisiana ranked #50.
Many Louisianians, including Gov. John Bel Edwards, were offended by this. But as someone who lived below the poverty line for most of my childhood, as more than 25% of children in Louisiana do, the state’s low ranking was not hard for me to understand.
Though many Louisianians are able to look at our low ratings and feel detached from them, many of the issues in the report are ones that have affected all of us, for our whole lives.
Louisiana ranks third highest in the nation for its poverty rate. Many Louisianians need to take a step back from their privilege and realize: even though they love their state — I do, too! — many of its poorer residents are unable to get ahead.
I grew up in Baton Rouge, where the push was always to get us students to stay in Louisiana as long as possible. From TOPS to other awards for natives of the state, going to this University was the obvious choice for me. But leaving after I graduate seemed like an even more obvious choice. Besides food, family and football, I can’t think of many reasons why I should stay and build a family here.
If the higher powers want students to stay in Louisiana and generate revenue for this state, it’s going to take more than just TOPS funding — they’re going to need to work harder at improving the quality of life for all Louisianians.
Save the Children, a humanitarian aid organization, ranked Louisiana as the worst state in America for children to live in. The ranking was based on factors like access to food, education and healthcare. Though your childhood in Louisiana may have been great, many children in Louisiana don’t even get to have a childhood at all.
Louisiana also ranked #50 in a list of best and worst school systems compiled by financial analysis site WalletHub. In another WalletHub ranking, it was named the fourth worst state for job-seekers. John Bel Edwards and his administration have done a good job securing more jobs for Louisianians so far, but there is clearly still more work to be done.
In the United Health Foundation’s 2019 Annual Health Ranking report, Louisiana ranked #49 based on human factors like drug use and poor eating habits and environmental factors like air and water pollution.
The list of areas in which Louisiana ranks towards the bottom goes on. Of course, as citizens of this beloved state, it’s easy for us to look at our low reputation and feel offended.
But rather than being offended, we need to start taking steps towards improving things, and this means electing more progressive leaders in this state to pass more progressive, people-centered legislation.
It’s easy to feel detached from these statistics since they only represent what seems like a small percentage of our society, but it will take all of us working together to make this state a better place to live.
I have faith in the future of Louisiana, but if I’m going to stay here, I need to see more concrete steps towards improvement. As of right now, this is not a state I’d want to raise my future family in. 
Olivia James is a 20-year-old political science junior from Baton Rouge.