Sometimes it's the simple reminders...
There are days that we have that simply remind us we are exactly where we are meant to be in that moment. I recently had one of those days. It began simply enough with a journey out to Reagan National Airport to complete my TSA PreCheck application (fancy I know), but ended with an interview with a visiting high school student. She was in town as part of a school trip and for the first time was experiencing D.C. and being exposed to conversations with some of the nations thought leaders. No, for the record I do not put myself in that category. In fact, I had the unique pleasure of being the first person she spoke with after her class met with Justice Sotomayor. You know, not a hard act to follow at all...
I was however, the first person that she was meeting with related to her class research paper on criminal justice reform. We met for 40 minutes and discussed various aspects of criminal justice reform and my experience researching and advocating on LGBTQ issues, including intimate partner violence. As it turns out I learned that this young women was a lesbian going to high school in rural Wisconsin. She came out to me after inquiring about how I got involved in LGBTQ partner violence work, to which I began my answer with "first and foremost I am a gay man." We talked about my work and experiences advocating for a variety of LGBTQ issues from intimate partner violence to HIV/AIDS to youth. And then we talked a little about what it was like to live in Washington, D.C. as an out person.
Although work can be stressful, life can throw curve balls, and it can be easy to get lost in the mundane routine of life, it's moments like this that serve as a poignant reminder of the reasons I do all that I do. Why I chose a profession that doesn't pay as robustly as others, but is committed to making progressive reforms. And why I over commit myself to projects and groups working to make positive change.
At my core I am a social justice advocate. I believe in the equitable and respectful treatment of all people. And I believe in the promise and power of empathy as a tool for social change. It's the reason I have spent the last 6 years of my life at JPI working to advance criminal justice reform and rethinking our approach to justice. It's the reason I served as a sexual assault victim advocate and HIV/AIDS policy advocate in Delaware. And it's the reason I find myself committed to working on LGBTQ intimate partner violence, police reform and supporting LGBTQ youth in Washington, D.C. today.
Like many, I've faced my own levels of adversity, but I know how fortunate I have been to be given a voice to be a change agent. And that is a gift that even in my most tired and distressed hours I recognize as an important calling. I believe we are truly the sum of our parts - that's something I learned in aerospace engineering all those years ago. A plane doesn't simply fly because it has wings, it flies because of each and every component that makes it up. And like that plane, I believe that we as people, communities, countries, and members of a global society also share that design. We are a sum of our experiences and common humanity.
And to me that sentiment has never been more poignant than in this election cycle. I believe furiously in our common good and humanity and adamantly reject cynicism and hate. And you should too, because the world is full of promise.
With love,
DC3FO
I was however, the first person that she was meeting with related to her class research paper on criminal justice reform. We met for 40 minutes and discussed various aspects of criminal justice reform and my experience researching and advocating on LGBTQ issues, including intimate partner violence. As it turns out I learned that this young women was a lesbian going to high school in rural Wisconsin. She came out to me after inquiring about how I got involved in LGBTQ partner violence work, to which I began my answer with "first and foremost I am a gay man." We talked about my work and experiences advocating for a variety of LGBTQ issues from intimate partner violence to HIV/AIDS to youth. And then we talked a little about what it was like to live in Washington, D.C. as an out person.
Although work can be stressful, life can throw curve balls, and it can be easy to get lost in the mundane routine of life, it's moments like this that serve as a poignant reminder of the reasons I do all that I do. Why I chose a profession that doesn't pay as robustly as others, but is committed to making progressive reforms. And why I over commit myself to projects and groups working to make positive change.
At my core I am a social justice advocate. I believe in the equitable and respectful treatment of all people. And I believe in the promise and power of empathy as a tool for social change. It's the reason I have spent the last 6 years of my life at JPI working to advance criminal justice reform and rethinking our approach to justice. It's the reason I served as a sexual assault victim advocate and HIV/AIDS policy advocate in Delaware. And it's the reason I find myself committed to working on LGBTQ intimate partner violence, police reform and supporting LGBTQ youth in Washington, D.C. today.
Like many, I've faced my own levels of adversity, but I know how fortunate I have been to be given a voice to be a change agent. And that is a gift that even in my most tired and distressed hours I recognize as an important calling. I believe we are truly the sum of our parts - that's something I learned in aerospace engineering all those years ago. A plane doesn't simply fly because it has wings, it flies because of each and every component that makes it up. And like that plane, I believe that we as people, communities, countries, and members of a global society also share that design. We are a sum of our experiences and common humanity.
And to me that sentiment has never been more poignant than in this election cycle. I believe furiously in our common good and humanity and adamantly reject cynicism and hate. And you should too, because the world is full of promise.
With love,
DC3FO