2016 in Review

There was a lot of rhetoric at the end of last year about what a terrible year it was, but on December 31, I took a look back at the year and I was pleasantly surprised by the number of highlights and lessons that the year had produced. I came away from 2016 knowing these things:

- I am strengthened by spirituality, love, friendship, and my sense of perseverance
- I can organize conferences (I did three in April!)
- My voice has power (I felt this through both writing and presentations)
- Organizing for justice is the path to a better future
- There is a power of being in the room where it happens (I got so much inspiration from programs I attended)
- Making space for reflecting on my values builds my spiritual foundation
- I find great joy in reading and walking (not at the same time except when I elliptical)
- I am brave (from phone banking to canvassing, I stretched myself beyond my comfort zone)
- I make a difference to students (they told me in a number of different ways)
- I am at my best when I stand in my power with love
- I have expertise to share (and I was asked to share it more in 2016 than ever before)
- There is nothing wrong with external motivation (I have the refrigerator and door to prove it)

And if there were a theme for the year, it would be "They tried to bury us. They didn't know we were seeds." And that "we" meant so many things in 2016. To me, "we" included my colleagues, and women, and African Americans, and everyone in the struggle for social justice. As a teacher of genocide, I know that we only move forward when there is no "they" and we expand our compassionate circle of "we" to include all of humanity, particularly those on the margins. All of our seeds need love and light to grow, and in the right conditions we can bravely overcome obstacles. Let us join together in resisting anything and anyone that would stop us from brightening the world.