May We Move.
8:13 PMInvisible Children has been under fire these past few weeks. In my eyes, the world saw a revolution and tried everything to resist it. Let me tell you something, this movement can not be stopped. Here is why:
When I was a Senior in High School, I was pretty lost. Although it may have looked to the outside world that I had it all together, I was hanging on by a thread. I had heard of a lot of non-profits and movements before but many of them hit my heart only for a moment and were gone the next day. But when Invisible Children came and presented at a conference I attended, I knew that this organization was different. They straight up cared. They were educated, approachable and welcoming. They wanted to know my story and in turn they told me theirs. They went far beyond their role as a representative and became my friend. And what really hit me was this, they invited me to get involved. Stories might not stay with you forever, but the human connection is something that you can not forget. And the human connection is Invisible Children.
Three years after seeing that presentation, I found myself in a very comfortable place in life. I was in the middle of college at a University that I loved. I had built incredible friendships and was a part of an amazing sisterhood. I had an on-campus job that fit me to a tee and my routine was normal. I had no reason to leave, except that I couldn’t get the voice out of my head that was telling me to GO. When I came on board as a regional representative, I found a group of humble, anonymous extraordinaires. And they didn’t brainwash me, scam me or make me part of the illuminati. What they did do was become my family. The Invisible Children offices take up a few floors in a large building in the business section of San Diego and consistently those two floors contain the only lights on after 10 pm. That is not slacktivism, that is hard, thankless work.
People keep asking me, how did Invisible Children go about making the most viral video of all time? All I can say is, they shared something they loved with their friends. Their friends shared it with their friends and suddenly we come to the undeniable fact that we are all connected. And we didn’t forget how that made us feel. I don’t think Kony 2012 is a trend. And even if it is, should fighting injustice ever go out of style?
I can not tell you how proud I am to be a part of this organization and even when I hand in my van key this May, I will continue to love and support them. Because I am no longer able to live my life apathetically. Like Jen Hatmaker puts it in her eloquently written blog, “I jumped in, imperfectly, even though I knew critics would come out of the woodwork, questioning my motives and methods and ignorance and intentions. I decided to use my voice and my resources, because that could be my daughter and my sister and my community. That mother is me. Those children are you. I didn’t get it perfectly right. I couldn't address it all. I couldn't even address the entire scope of one problem. I didn’t change the whole world. But I moved.” And so may we never stop moving.
A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.
Mahatma Gandhi
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