Paper Adventure Week 8

For Week 8 of Elise Blaha's Paper Adventure, the prompt was Something Old. Reflexively I was trying to think of some treasured jewel or well-loved piece of clothing, but I happened upon this old picture of me when I was at my peak of activism. Rallying for the oppressed, fighting for equality, trying to save the world. In this picture, I (with others) was protesting a Chinese restaurant in Queens that was trying to keep its workers from fighting for better wages and working conditions by intimidating them. Unfortunately the sign I picked up misspelled "intimidation"and a (less flattering) picture of me screaming with this sign was printed on the second page of the New York Post.

When I think back on Old Me, I marvel at how much of my time I spent doing these various rallies and protests. Now with a husband and daughter my efforts are toned down to annual TeamWalk fundraisers, petitions, and donations. I like to think I'm still encouraging progress and changes but at times I feel overwhelmed by all the greedy machinations and suffering in the world. I try to think what I could do to be a part of the solution. Sadly, sometimes I feel too tired and jaded to save the world. But in the end, I know I can't stop trying to make a difference.