Creating Social Change One Person at a Time

Do you remember a time when you were a child and an adult in your life changed something in you for the rest of your life? Maybe they were the only person who believed in your ability to achieve your dreams. Maybe they taught you kindness and compassion towards the people you found difficult to forgive. Maybe they saw you for who you were and reflected you as good and valuable when no one else had before. Even just a small word of encouragement can be important enough to us at that age that we remember it for decades. That person that helped you probably has no idea that they affected you so much, even if that impact lasted a lifetime. What if you could be that person for someone else? 

What if you could be that person for dozens of people? Or hundreds? Imagine the reverberations of your actions throughout the world as each of those people carry that change with them through life.  

The Problem with Slurs

CN: In-depth discussion of the usage and purpose of slurs and the common defenses for using slurs; discussion of racism, sexism, anti-gay bias, and classism. Warning: There will be a couple of slurs written out in full in this article. They are written this way to maintain clarity in a purely educational piece. I made a point to limit how many slurs I used and to avoid using any slurs that would be particularly egregious …Read More

Essay on The Bezine: Using Social Interactions to Create Change

An article of mine was published today on The BeZine, an online magazine that looks at efforts for peace, sustainability and social justice through the lens of art. They publish photography, poetry, essays, fiction, even music, that coincides with the theme of each issue. They are particularly interested in looking at the world’s problems with the intention of finding solutions. The BeZine also has direct ties to 100 Thousand Poets for Change (100TPC), which was …Read More

Spoon Theory: What Silverware Has to Do with Chronic Illness

CN: General discussion of the experience of having a chronic illness, reference to ableism and mental illness Have you ever dealt with a chronic illness and struggled to explain to your healthy friends why you just can’t go out with them anymore? Have you ever heard someone say, “I don’t have the spoons for that,” and wondered what they were talking about? Simply put, spoons are a unit of measurement for resources. When someone references …Read More

Explaining Privilege Part 2: The Cycle of Reinforcement

In the second part of the Explaining Privilege series, I talk about how the socialization of marginalized and privileged groups reinforce the blindspots of privileged groups, which in turn causes a cycle that deprioritizes the needs of marginalized people.