Want Peace? Work for Justice.

Lately I have been looking back at my own diversity journey, my social justice journey.  This is part 1 of perhaps 3.  I'm not sure how much of part 2 I'm ready to share.

Another suitcase in another hall...

As I mentioned, during my internship in St. Louis, I suddenly found myself with free time and space to start processing everything that had happened in recent years.


One of the first things I had to do at my new job, was locate and write down the addresses for all 8+ of the places I had lived in the 3.5 years since I turned 16.  If that's not a setup for asking "Where do I belong," then I'm not sure what is.

I had developed a pattern for moving.  One of the first things I did when I knew I had to leave a place, was take down my posters.  That made it obvious to me that I wasn't staying, and helped me get motivated to pack.  On the other side, often the posters were the last things I'd put up, when I finally felt settled in.

There weren't any love affairs involved, I don't want to give the wrong impression, but the rest of the lyrics to this song seem to fit:

I just had to shake my head with the realization that I had intentionally decided to move every 3 to 6 months for the next 4 years.  But at least this time it was my choice.  I knew where I would be, when.  I made connections in both locations, often with people who would still be there when I returned again.  

Dandelion seeds

It's a military brat thing.  A good case has been made, for the dandelion as the Military Brat Flower.

The hardest question for a brat to answer is, "Where are you from?"  My usual response is another question, "Do you want the long answer, or the short answer?"