Thank you for joining me on this journey. I have been writing since 14, when one of my favorite aunts gave me my first journal. I quickly learned a journal doesn’t judge, it just accepts, embraces and listens to inner thoughts and experiences. My journal became the safest place for me to explore what it means to be young, what it means to be a woman, and where I thought my place in the world should be. I still have all of my original journals, mostly filled with typical teen angst. But a common theme running throughout my writing, regardless of my age, has been a voice of concern for social justice or, more accurately, the lack of it.
You see, there are certain things about our world I can’t know about and do nothing about. Writing has become the primary way for me to find my voice in the face of injustice. I turn to writing when I am bothered about something or when I am feeling particularly powerless. Writing about it helps me take back my power.
For most of my life I have kept my writing private. But in a world that feels increasingly divided, where I witness events and experiences that simply feel wrong, I have decided to let my inner activist emerge. Through this blog I’ll be sharing my activist poetry, as well as links to other sites where you can find my work. So please come back!
Obviously, this space is not as private or safe as a personal journal would be. But if my activist voice inspires you to raise your own voice–in whatever medium allows you to raise it–the risk will be worth it. Maybe together, we can change the world.
Be the change you want to see in the world. — Mahatma Gandhi
Cathy Standiford 