Tag: Hope

Women of Our Future

mariethearistocatLeave a comment

Following Trump’s win in last night’s presidential election, about half of the country is in complete distress. Now, most women, people of color, LGBTQIA, people with disabilities, and other oppressed people are starting to fear for themselves and their futures with the reality of a completely Republican-controlled government. But, those minorities didn’t take a complete step back. Five strong, capable women were voted into various positions, all of whom are hopefully the first of many.

California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Photo Credit:  www.latimes.com

Kamala Harris was elected as California’s Senate representative. Along with that, she has been Attorney General of her state since 2011. She is the second black woman to ever be in the US Senate and the first ever woman to be California’s Attorney General. This comes as a huge accomplishment, especially because both her parents were immigrants – originally from Jamaica and India.

Cortez Masto Reid.jpg
Photo Credit: latino.foxnews.com

Former Attorney General of Nevada, Catherine Cortez Masto became the United States’ first ever Latina Senator. She is representing Nevada in the Senate. This wasn’t a small feat: as the granddaughter of a Mexican immigrant, she had a tough battle defeating her opponent, Republican Joe Heck.

"Because I’m a mom, that makes me concerned for the future," Omar said. Photo by Conrad Zbikowski.
Photo Credit: http://www.tcdailyplanet.net

Ilhan Omar became the nation’s first Somali-American lawmaker, when she was elected as a State Representative for Minnesota. She is a fantastic role model for young East African girls, who she actively empowers, working as the director of Women Organizing Women Network. Her win is a bright sign for all her fellow refugees as she symbolizes hope for women who want to be in politics.

Photo Credit: http://www.glaad.org

Kate Brown made a wave of change as the United States’ first openly LGBT governor, when she became Oregon’s 38th Governor. She is an activist not only for LGBT rights, but she also wants to see reform in gun control, women’s rights, and clean energy. In a speech she made about a month ago, she opened up about why she was running. “If I can be a role model for one young person that decides that their life is worth living because there’s someone like them in the world, it’s worth it,” she said.

Tammy Duckworth, assistant secretary for the Department of Veterans Affairs, at the World War II Memorial in Washington in 2010. Duckworth, now an Illinois congressional candidate, became a double amputee when her helicopter was shot down in Iraq in 2004.
Photo Credit: http://www.military.com

Last, but certainly not least, Tammy Duckworth, a veteran of the Iraq war, became Illinois’s new Senator. Born in Bangkok, this former Hawaiian resident defeated Republican Mark Kirk. Her choice to join the army was probably influenced by her former marine father, Frank Duckworth. Her win marks almost the 12th year since she lost both her legs in a plane crash when fighting in the Iraq war.

So, no matter how you feel about the outcome of this election, I think these women deserve some recognition. Their successes show that even when women are put down, ridiculed, or deemed weak and undeserving, we still prevail. I’m glad that these women (and other women) will be representing who I could be, if I work hard and believe in my capabilities. These women are the future of our nation.

Inspiration from: https://www.good.is/articles/women-elected-across-america

Nightmare

indigoshellLeave a comment

It’s a horse. Can you guess what colors plague their minds the most? It’s black. The dark color that overpowers all, that can swallow up anything lighter that dares to power through.

This horse is all black, smoking, shimmering, not hidden like Conscience but not sharp like Shadow. Her socks are grey, her hooves pulse, she plods along, following me, aiding me. Her name is Nightmare but she is Hope. She is Beauty. She is Power.

She, in her huge Gypsy form, is difficult to see. Hope shows up the least and they can see no Beauty in this world. This world is destroyed. Corrupted. Shattered. Gods know what plans the world has for lowly humans.

Nightmare lives on. She, in her huge Gypsy form, fights Shadow and Conscience and will never let Hope and Beauty die. Her Power is immense, never weakening, but one day she will die.

She feeds on Hope and Beauty, and they are on their way to extinction. The good powers of this world, the bright sunlight, the clear winds, are being swallowed by the seething black haze that eats all.

Nightmare has left me and begins to die.

Dove

callmemaybe32Leave a comment

A little Dove chocolate told me to enjoy the small things in life.

This is a stage in my life that I need the small things.

With the stress of school, sports, and a social life, it’s the little moments that make it all worth it.

They happen here and there, but today for instance it rained.

The rain brings me great happiness. It cleanses the ground, but it makes everything clean and new.

Flowers bloom, and otherwise dusty hills become rolling green hills.

This is the entrance into spring that we have been waiting for.

The past few weeks have brought a lot of stress to an already stressful life.

One would think that having a single mother with multiple incurable diseases would cause stress.

Having her go to the hospital unexpectedly would seem to cause stress, but that is my life.

This is who I am, this is how my family works.

I can accept that my mother is sick and I can find happiness in the fact that she always comes home, although sometimes not without a fight, she has managed to make it back every time.

On this Easter Sunday I ask you to consider this.

I don’t care what your beliefs are, or if you don’t believe, but there is something on this Earth and beyond that has kept my mother here.

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The Crashing Eagle

frog32 Comments

gg5

A nation’s spending out of control.

A flying spark of hope flies across the sky.

A weathered bird has served its time well.

Its has flown high in the sky.

It has been prey.

It has been a predator.

It survives its ordeals only to come crashing down.

It is shot down by bureaucracy

The replacement threatens to out shine it.

A mighty eagle, the replacement is swift and strong.

The hopes of the nation come crashing down.

The mighty eagle crashes, its strengths is its undoing.

Exorbitant costs and empty coffers force the nation to abandon the eagle.

In it’s destruction the eagle robs the nation of its hope.

Never again will hope rise so highly in the nation.

Glass

callmemaybe32Leave a comment

I have always wanted to live near the glass.

Open and cold

Pure and nice.

Crystalline structures formed feet above the surface.

The glass is the only thing that serves a purpose.

Frozen water, a protector from the sub zero abyss.

The sun sets and rises and reflects of the face, until the heat comes then it’s a race.

A race against time

To finish through the line.

The Simple Dream.

eternity1030Leave a comment

I woke up with the bright sunshine and the hospital smell as usual. I got out of my bed and washed my face quietly, as usual.

I knew it was a new day though I still regarded it as yesterday because everything was the same. The same room – cabined and silent; the same color – chaste white; the same roommate – the man with obnubilation. He always told me that the reason we were sent to this depressive place was that we have so many dreams which could never come true. I knew nothing about his dream.

Every time he just smiled.

As time went by, he was getting older and older. I noticed that the man always sat in the sun, delightedly watching a flower facing to him. Whenever the time was, or how the weather changed, he always acted like the most faithful friend of the flower. Four seasons altered as the flower grew up from a bud to a delicate and charming blossom. The whole life of the old man was stepping to become withered as the falling flower. At last, he passed away peacefully. But after his death, I realized his real dream.

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People Around Us

displacedlocalLeave a comment

We look to the people around us as a support group

Improvised experts in our life

A group of people that know us the best

Like a herd of elephants crossing Africa

We keep these people close as we make journeys

These people are told everything

And are sometimes told nothing

The people around us should be more than friends

They should become Family

Flower

frog31 Comment

r4t

A flower cannot grow alone.

It must find soil to have a home.

It starts as a seed, it probably won’t survive.

The odds are great the seed will die.

It’s a small chance but the seed succeeds.

It must steal sunlight and water from the tenacious weed.

With hope and care the seed begins to sprout.

It must fend off the occasional drought.

After a while the seed is a fully-grown stem.

Mother Nature can no longer extinguish it on a whim.

The stem will contain an invigorating power.

On it will grow a beautiful flower.

The flower will soon shoot its seeds into the air.

Once again the tenacious weed must beware.

What I Want in Life

kirbyfullyloaded1 Comment

These are the things I want most in life:

Victory, purity, the sea, freedom, honor, courage, love, beauty, strength, future, twilight, justice, opportunity, rebirth, snow, grace, inspiration, sand, warmth, friendship, integrity, connection, spontaneity, innocence, compassion, wisdom, hope, sunshine, success, resilience, serenity, identity, serendipity, knowledge, genius, dawn, forgiveness, rain, happiness, strategy, responsibility, empathy, salt, passion, trust, wind, color, electricity, desire, truth, duty, innovation, laughter, music, generosity, bravery, patience, flexibility, glory, possibility, luck, clarity, creativity, moonlight, brilliance, the stars, loyalty, understanding, rebirth, absolution.

I don’t just want to breathe.  I want to live.

Pandora Jar

vabenissimoLeave a comment

Driving through the beautiful city of Ojai, I saw four people, who appeared to be in their late 50s, standing with two colorful signs. “No More War” and “Please Come Back” were the words painted on the squared posters. The bright colors might have grabbed others’ attention. However, for me, the two fingers held up by the third man from the right captured my mind.

Peace is a distant term for the victims of war. When I tried to finish my reading about the recent American field reports of the Iraq War, I could not.

Attempting to suppress my outrage, I sought to look for a bigger picture of the unfortunate misery. Then, I became increasingly curious about the existence of peace. As I looked through newspapers and other events around the world, turmoil unfortunately appeared much more frequently than peace.

According to the Princeton Dictionary, the word peace means “the state prevailing during the absence of war,” but it also represents mental state freed from anxiety.

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