Why Every Star Matters: A Reflection on Privilege
I entered the latter half of my twenties in the sticky cicada hum of August, consumed in a life I hardly imagined just months prior. I spent that birthday hosting the farewell celebration of a friend headed off to a year long adventure teaching in the country of Malawi, one of the poorest countries in world. That evening I hosted that party with my four month old baby on my hip laughing and talking with friends I made when I was a 19-year-old kid barely hanging on. This occurred just days prior to restarting the pursuit of the social work degree I had to abandon because of a difficult pregnancy. This occurred not even two weeks after an 18-year-old unarmed kid was killed by a police officer. These moments appear, on their surface, unrelated. They seem unconnected points, especially because I did not know Michael Brown. We are, for all intents and purposes, stars galaxies apart. Since that time, I have watched the burning searing pain of communities boiling over the top. Their h