Beacon of Hope

What a week it has been…

I can easily say that this has been one of the most emotionally draining weeks of my life. With that being said, everything around me seems to be connecting and forming into a circle. I would say that this all started last friday when we decided to see Fruit Vale Station which I know my roommates have already talked a lot about so I won’t go on too much about it. It has had a huge impact on me. The impact must be so heavy for me because we are living in the community in which it took place and we are able to feel the pain of the real, overall issue which is racism. I will say that my whole life I have been pretty oblivious to racism, sure I always knew it existed but I never knew the gravity of the problem, how alive it still was, and how often people are faced with it. I feel like before now my eyes have been closed. I feel ashamed that my own friends and family are prejudice and discriminate against others in their everyday jokes or phrases. We live in a day and age where people don’t think for themselves, they believe whatever they are told and you are pronounced as a “black sheep” if you go against what popular belief says is right. We say things and words everyday and forget the real meaning to what we are saying.

We are dragged into believing everything the government or media tells us because we are too lazy to do anything else. It saddens me to hear the hatred in peoples words. In articles I have read and on social media websites people that know nothing about the Trayvon Martin case are commenting on it and spreading ignorance and animosity to the rest of the world. It pains me that we don’t take the time to educate ourselves on important matters that we are aware of, such as these.  Throughout this week I have felt a great depression come over me and I think the only cure to that was attending the protest on Monday. At the protest we grouped together to hear what people had to say, to speak for those no longer here with us, and to try to spread awareness and movement. There was something so inspiring about walking next to a stranger knowing that if anything, you had this one thing in common, that today you were each others conrad. There were many moments where I would just look to the person walking next to me, behind me or in front of me and smile because we were doing something here, we were standing up for those who have fallen and for those who have fallen short, we were all together for this one cause, equality and justice for all.