Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Saturday walked the red carpet at the premiere of Greta Gerwigs Little Women in New York, praising the films message as a sign of the times.

History may not repeat itself, but it does rhyme, she said. And to see how this story rhymes as its carried throughout the future I think is quite exciting and Im thrilled to see it.

The first-term congresswoman who defeated incumbent Joe Crowley in a major midterm upset that made her the youngest woman ever elected to the chamber praised women for leading the charge on Capitol Hill.

I think its exemplary of how that change is happening, she said. And it happens bit by bit, and we chip at it year by year. But its absolutely happening and Im thrilled to see women taking the reins everywhere from film to Congress.

Ocasio-Cortez pointed to her loved ones as a source of inspiration. A year before her 2018 election, she bartended to help keep them afloat, and has made clear that she is no stranger to the struggle of working-class voters, many of whom propelled her to victory in her states 14th Congressional District encompassing parts of the Bronx and Queens.

I think the thing that gives me the courage is just knowing the story of my own mother, my grandmother, my family, and feeling as though if we dont step up, no one else will, she said. It doesnt even feel like a choice. It feels like something that we have to have, so Im happy to be a part of it.

The movie, based on the 1868 novel by Louisa May Alcott, is set for release on Christmas Day. Florence Pugh, Saoirse Ronan, Eliza Scanlen and Emma Watson star as its four signature female characters alongside Timothe Chalamet, Laura Dern and Tracy Letts.