little girl, big thoughts.

#KONY2012

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 18:12:00 -0500

Disclaimer: These views are my own. They are emotionally charged. They are critical and somewhat harsh. I don’t mean to offend anyone.

Just like everyone else reading this, I watched KONY 2012 on YouTube. Similarly, I felt overwhelmed, moved and disturbed - but the more tweets, blogs, and Facebook statuses I read the more I’ve come to realize that the reasons why I’m so disturbed differ greatly from the “empowered” majority.

I clicked on the video aware of who Joseph Kony is, and curious to see what all the hype was about. About 29 minutes later, I was left with one overpowering question.

Why?

Why did the video simplify such complex issues? Are we so simple minded that the only way we can understand this is in terms of “good guy versus bad guy”?

Why can we so easily agree that is wrong to put guns in the hands of children, but okay to place them in the hands of government organizations who have proven time and time again to be corrupt?

Why does the entire video place emphasis on the importance of capturing Joseph Kony and present the best interests of these “invisible children” as a mere afterthought? Sorry, but the pretty little picture and 6 second segment on returning displaced children to their happy homes didn’t quite convince me.

Why do we constantly fall back on the rhetoric of “saving Africa”? Why is the weight of empirically supported criticism overpowered by the tweets of a few celebrities?

…. I could go on. But what I really want to know is what happens after Joseph Kony is captured. I get it, it’s a great idea to retweet/reblog/poster our cities…. but then what? How will this campaign that has captured the attention of millions with inaccurate and misconstrued information address the aftermath of the actions of the LRA in African communities?

I am in no way trying to shit on anyone’s good intentions. I know how it feels to be so moved by social injustice that you feel compelled to do something, because I have… and I have. But all I’m trying to say is that as young “global citizens” living in a developed country we have so much potential to create positive change. I’ve supported several humanitarian initiatives over the past year, and if someone came to me at the time and asked me why I was doing it they’d get an earful. I justify my global actions with empirical research, real-life examples and personal conviction - and I just don’t feel convinced that the masses who are so supportive of the KONY2012 movement are doing the same.

At the end of the day, I’m thankful for the awareness. Invisible Children and #KONY2012 continue to push me to seek out NPO’s that truly make a difference and stand by their words. My greatest issue is this:

Why, as a generation of young people who are in the perfect position to initiate social change, do we continuously fail to ask the question “why”?

Visible Children: We got trouble.

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 15:41:51 -0500

Visible Children: We got trouble.:

I realize the lack of sensationalized media may not hold the attention of most, but this article is well. worth. reading.

visiblechildren:

For those asking what you can do to help, please link to visiblechildren.tumblr.com wherever you see KONY 2012 posts. And tweet a link to this page to famous people on Twitter who are talking about KONY 2012!

I do not doubt for a second that those involved in KONY 2012 have great intentions, nor…

“If at first you don’t succeed,Dust yourself off and try...

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 22:40:09 -0500

“If at first you don’t succeed,
Dust yourself off and try again.
You can dust it off and try again.”

Photo

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:15:41 -0500

word.

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 01:03:13 -0400

word.

"Sometimes it takes courage to leave."

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 00:33:31 -0400

“Sometimes it takes courage to leave.”

- Ann Rinaldi, The Staircase (via simply-quotes)

staff: The slow-motion disaster of the food crisis in the Horn...

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 17:56:01 -0400

staff:

The slow-motion disaster of the food crisis in the Horn of Africa is truly horrifying. Last Wednesday the United Nations declared a famine in two large regions of Somalia; 3.7 million people, nearly half the country’s population, are affected. The crisis is larger than just Somalia. Right now the devastating drought in the region means that more than 11 million people need food aid across Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia.

You can help by making a contribution through the Tumblr Dashboard or on the Somalia tag page, and we’ll match your support up to $10,000. Proceeds will go to the United Nations World Food Programme.

boardtheplane: Stanely Park, Vancouver, British Columbia,...

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 11:27:14 -0400

boardtheplane:

Stanely Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

this made me smile <3

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 23:59:22 -0400

this made me smile <3

"All endings are also beginnings. We just don’t know it at the time."

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 22:35:54 -0400

“All endings are also beginnings. We just don’t know it at the time.”

- Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet in Heaven (via simply-quotes)

doctorswithoutborders: In India, AIDS activists celebrate a...

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 22:28:10 -0400

doctorswithoutborders:

In India, AIDS activists celebrate a victory. The European Union backed down on a key trade policy that would have made it more difficult for people in the developing world to get drugs for HIV/AIDS, TB, and other deadly diseases. But the fight continues. [Photo: 2011 © Rico Gustav]

Photo

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 01:18:07 -0400

"The only thing constant in the world is change. That’s why today I take life as it comes."

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:22:40 -0400

“The only thing constant in the world is change. That’s why today I take life as it comes.”

- India Arie

influential strangers

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 23:39:53 -0400

I think it’s safe to say that anyone who is even somewhat close to me knows how much I idolize my grandmother. She has been there for every milestone in my life, and she’s taught me more than I will ever learn in any lecture hall. She knows me better than I know myself, and I know that everyday I spend with her is a blessing. Coming to grips with the fact that she won’t be by side forever is something I struggle with every single day. Since she’s gotten sick, I feel like my whole life has been put on hold. I know every single medication she takes, I know when she takes them, and I’ve memorized the different ways they interact with each other along with their respective side effects. I know the names and phone numbers of all her doctors, yet I still can’t remember the phone number to my own apartment. I’ve become so accustomed to the waiting rooms of her different doctors’ offices that I know most of the other patients by name.

… But not all of them.

It was a busy afternoon, and as usual, I was late. My attempts to do multiple things at once usually blow up in my face, and this was no exception. My grandma had an appointment, I had some work deadlines to meet, my car needed gas, and I was running on absolutely no sleep. I barely got her to the appointment on time, and I’m still surprised she didn’t smack me with her walking cane. As usual, I dropped her off in the front and sped off to find a parking spot. I almost got rear-ended in the process, but I parked and ran into the office hoping she didn’t get called in yet. Much to my dismay, she was already in with the doctor by the time I got there - so I was stuck sitting around the waiting room praying for the time to pass a little bit faster and hoping she came out with positive news. I’m not sure if it was a slow day, but the waiting room was unusually empty and about 80% of the seats were vacant. Despite that, an elderly woman found herself sitting right beside me. It was kind of awkward, and I was extremely exhausted and not in the mood to talk to anyone. If she sensed that, she didn’t care. She looked straight at me and asked if I was Guyanese, and I said yes. Annoyed already, I figured this would turn into a long conversation filled with polite short talk about where our families were from - and at the time, I would have much rather been asleep. Then, to my surprise, she told me she could tell I was mixed and that I looked Indian-Chinese. My interest peaked. Not only was she right, but nobody ever believes me when I tell them that. I smiled (probably for the first time that day), and said yes.

She looked me up and down and said “girl, you look tired”. I wanted to object, but again - she was right. As most older West Indians do, she kept talking without giving me a chance to say anything. As a young person well accustomed to this, I stayed quiet and listened to everything she had to say because I knew the likelihood of her giving me the opportunity to interrupt her was marginal. She told me that she could take one look at me and tell that I was so exhausted over all the wrong things. I looked at her like she was crazy, and she said “you should never ever stress yourself over something you can’t change”. She told me that she can tell I’m going through a lot, but that it will pass, whether I believe her or not. She also said that she could tell I’m trying hard to make things okay, but that sometimes it’s better to just accept that things are not okay - not right now at least. She told me that life is going to get messy, but that every good deed eventually gets returned to us. She reminded me to never lose sight of what I believe in or the people who matter to me.

I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t say anything. I wasn’t sure where she came from. For all I knew she wasn’t even a patient at this office, but it didn’t even matter. It was strange. Not because she was an absolute stranger, but because everything she said were words I could imagine my grandmother telling me. She was right. If I were to continue stressing myself out over all the negative things in my life I have no control over, I could expect a full fledged anxiety attack. Instead, I’ve decided to be relentlessly positive. So far, it’s working out pretty well.

The end of that conversation was a bit of a blur. My grandma came out of the office and I had to leave, I felt like I should say something profound to my influential stranger - but “thank you” was the best I could come up with. She just smiled and winked at me.

…. And I haven’t been the same since.

love zebrahim … constantly on repeat :) eebsofresh: damn....

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 19:56:25 -0400

love zebrahim … constantly on repeat :)

eebsofresh:

damn. zebrahim is the #1 hiphop/soul album on bandcamp. big up all the beautiful people who gave us a shot.

http://eebsofresh.bandcamp.com/album/zebrahim-in-my-heart-i-am

"As it turned out, hell wasn’t watching the people you love get hurt; it was coming in during..."

Sun, 29 May 2011 22:30:16 -0400

“As it turned out, hell wasn’t watching the people you love get hurt; it was coming in during the second act, when it was already too late to stop it from happening.”

- Jodi Picoult

love is for suckers.

Thu, 26 May 2011 22:15:36 -0400

Today I was talking to a coworker about whether or not we believe that it’s possible to say ‘fuck love’ without sounding like you’re bitter, lonely and single. We didn’t really reach a consensus, but it seriously got me thinking about my perspective on relationships.

Over the past little while, I’ve watched a few of my closest friends go through the turbulence that goes along with the inevitable end of a relationship that just wasn’t worth salvaging. It really shouldn’t affect me that much, but witnessing their experiences in addition to thinking of my own have left me with this love is for suckers mentality that I can’t seem to let go of. Until now, I never took the time to actually think about the reasons why I’ve been on the run from commitment.

On more than one occasion, I’ve had people ask me how ‘a girl like me’ could actually be single. I realize I never thought much of it - but really, since when did being single become a negative thing? To me, it’s anything but that. In the time span between now and the end of my last relationship, I’ve found that I’m healthier, happier and more focused. My relationship with my family is stronger than ever, and I have a full grasp of who my real friends are. I promised myself I’d take the time to find the things I’m passionate about and what I really want to do with my life, and I did just that. When I think back to my un-single life, I don’t even recognize the person I used to be.

Relationships aren’t black and white, and neither are break-ups. There isn’t always a right and wrong. Sometimes there’s two wrongs. Sometimes there’s one right and one stubborn ass. Sometimes there’s two rights that wanted completely different things. Often, there ends up being two people who invested so much and ended up with so little. I think honesty should be the foundation of any relationship, and more than anything we need to be honest with ourselves.

In being honest with myself, I can recognize that what I care about the most right now is my family. I care about working hard to secure the lifestyle I want for my future. I care about being there for the friends who have stood by me as I got to this point in my life.

Maybe love isn’t for suckers. But unhappiness definitely is. And to me, single life just isn’t equated to unhappiness. What is ‘a girl like me’ doing being single? Who knows. But what I do know is that it’s probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me.

I believe Jehovah JirehI believe there’s heaven, I believe...

Thu, 19 May 2011 21:59:33 -0400

I believe Jehovah Jireh
I believe there’s heaven, I believe in war
I believe a woman’s temple
Gives her the right to choose, but baby don’t abort
I believe that marriage isn’t
Between a man and woman but between love and love
And I believe you when you say you’ve lost all faith
But you must believe in something
You gotta believe in something

I still believe in man
A wise one asked me why
Cause I don’t believe we’re wicked
I know that we sin but I do believe we try
We all try, the girls try, the boys try
Women try, men try, you and I try, try, we all try

… I think I love Frank Ocean

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not..."

Mon, 02 May 2011 21:07:39 -0400

““I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already void of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.””

- Martin Luther King Jr.

speak your mind. realize that your opinion matters. go out and...

Mon, 02 May 2011 00:16:19 -0400

speak your mind. realize that your opinion matters. go out and vote.