"I am on a journey to understand..."
"I am on a journey to understand my role in changing the world, which is no doubt a privilege" ~Cody Charles
(Alternatively titled: "Privileges, Responsibilities & Gifts")
I am coming to terms with understanding that I have become somewhat despondent in regards to the work I believed(d) I want(ed) to dedicate my life to. By work, I mean social justice advocacy. I am/was arriving at a place of not total depression, but desensitization. I've been told not to arrive to this place without putting up a fight. I've been told this is the desired outcome of mass media. I've been told this is a turning point in the life of an activist—does one lose their passion and drive or do they remain forever dedicated to the cause?
Tomorrow begins week two of the first term of my second year of college, and I have seen beautiful sunsets and needless unkindness. But here's where I lie: both exist, both make up the world, and I can acknowledge and withstand both. Perhaps I cannot believe all wrongs will be righted, but I love too much to believe we cannot change anything.
I believe I can change the world for the better. A privilege because I come from the economic background and two-parent household and stable family life that gives a Black woman from Oakland that type of confidence. A responsibility because I have younger siblings and cousins who I want to have an easier time growing and fitting into this world. A gift because this belief lifts my heart in my worst moments. The combination of these two form a triumphant cycle which orbits around my soul. I know my work, I've just got to try and make it happen.
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