Fyodor Dostoyevsky once wrote, “The soul is healed by being with children,” and never was this statement truer than this past weekend. As I watched my country morph into something unrecognizable, I also met my one-month nephew for the first time. It was a weekend filled with powerful and conflicting emotions. But as I sit on my flight home, I am filled with hope and trepidation. Hope for the future, because I see the outpouring of support for those who are marginalized and attacked, but trepidation because I don’t know what is going to happen next.
But more than anything, I am filled with determination. My nephew will grow up in a functioning democracy. He will grow up knowing that he is loved and accepted. He will grow up knowing he can be anything he wants to be. I know this because I will fight tooth and nail to ensure that these things happen.
So to those who continue to rise up and make their voices heard: Thank you. Thank you for fighting. Thank you for prioritizing human rights. Thank you for putting your lives on hold to make everyone’s better. And lastly, thank you for helping preserve the values we hold so dear: freedom, dignity, equality, and opportunity.