friend—Is there anything you resented when you were younger, but now feel a sense of gratitude for?

For me it’s how I’m different. I’ve always been a bird of a different feather, and that’s not always widely accepted. 

When I was 9 my family moved from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Chicago, Illinois because my mother got a job promotion. At first I was resentful of the move, leaving behind extended family and my Appalachian roots, but in retrospect I’m really glad to have been exposed to a less homogenous way of life.

My school in Pittsburgh was overwhelmingly white, with just a few POC; at my new school in Chicago, over 60 different languages were spoken.

It was a huge culture shock, but it really opened my eyes to all the different kinds of people who live in this world, and how all the different kinds of people in this world matter, exist, and are important.

I’ve lived in LA for more than 10 years now, and here it’s clearer than anywhere that being different is a strength. 

I’m grateful for my struggles because they’ve let me feel blessed and grateful for what I have, and not lament over what I don’t. They’ve provided me with empathy for others who are struggling; I’ve learned it’s okay to ask for help, and you can’t expect people to “pick themselves up by their bootstraps” when they aren’t even guaranteed the right to those bootstraps (basic necessities of life) to begin with.

Growing up in a family that was just getting by, on top of being bullied as a queer person—experiences I don’t wish on anyone—has allowed me to have this vision of a world that I would like to see.

Some people might describe it as utopian, but I don’t think there’s anything “radical” about wanting healthcare, housing, and education for everybody. “Equal opportunities” aren’t equal when people aren’t guaranteed basic elements of humanity.

In a nation of this wealth there’s no reason that we shouldn’t be able to guarantee those basics for everybody. We all contribute to society in one way or another, and we all deserve the basic necessities to live!

My fundraising director tells me we have to ask for donations in this email, since we’re almost halfway through this month and falling behind our goal:

Thank you for your support of this people-powered, community-first campaign. I’m so proud to see us putting our differences together—not aside—to fight for the greater good.

In solidarity,

Maebe