Who Are You, Really?

who are you,
really?

you are not a name
or a height, or a weight
or a gender
you are not an age
and you are not where you
are from

you are your favorite books
and the songs stuck in your head
you are your thoughts
and what you eat for breakfast
on saturday mornings

you are a thousand things
but everyone chooses
to see the million things
you are not

you are not
where you are from
you are where you're going
and i'd like
to go there
too

m.k.

Oh I love this quote-poem-saying-thing!!! Who are you, really? How do we see those around us, really? Do we see them for their race, their gender, their popularity ranking, or their social groups? What if we chose to see people for their stories? What if we got to know them as a person, we felt their joys and pains, we've seen the way their eyes light up with passion? Who are their friends? Why do they eat that for breakfast on Saturday mornings? What kind of a person are they? What do they believe? What are their values? I wish we could love people enough to know them and who they are, and love them so much, that no matter who they are, that we could always be there for them and want to go with them. Because what is the point of judging someone based on what you see? Once who get to know someone, you realize that everyone has a story and everyone really is equal, because everyone has joy and pain, and everyone is human. Moral of the quote-poem-saying-thingy: get to know people's stories, because everyone has a story, and it is worth it to know it, because it is worth it to love them.

"One Touch of Nature Makes the Whole World Kin"

In Troilus and Cressida, Act 3, scene 3, Shakespeare presents this universal line: "One touch of nature makes the whole world kin." And there it is: an idea that people in this messy world can be family, and implies that they should be. Earth and its people are one-- and so every individual is not only linked to their neighbors and community, but also communities from all over the world, and ultimately the earth itself.

Global Citizenship begins with connected-ness. When one understands the role they have in the world, including their relationship with peoples of worldwide cultures and their relationship with the natural world, they find themselves certain of their position of global citizenship and are therefore entitled to all the blessings and responsibilities of that citizenship. To stand strong, confident, and encouraged by what the world has to offer-- these are the results of a family-- not merely awareness.

In Spring 2015, this global citizenship course will take on a touch of activism. Yet, activism, you think, comes often with a negative connotation. But then there's the definition we discussed in class. This is the definition that I believe captures the true passion of an activist. Now, an activist is someone who believes something, and believes it with passion. They view it with a great deal of importance. And then, they stand. They stand firm in those beliefs, and they stand up for those beliefs when something threatens them. Sometimes that means standing up for yourself, sometimes standing up for others, but no matter what, you can stand up for those things in little settings, and in big. Be it in a classroom, a group of friends, or bigger settings like communities gathering together to state their voice on the condition of their living. Activism is important in this world, because we want to change for the better. We want to leave this world better than when we found it. Leave an imprint, but a good one, one you can be proud of and not like stepping on a butterfly.

We're family. We're kin. We're one. And what is it that makes that unity? What is it that ties is together? One touch of nature. One world. We are connected, and we need to see that, then act upon it. That's what activism really is. Acting. Changing the world. And all it takes is one person, one voice, one action. So act!!!