Detours & The Road That Meets You

 When I was a teenager and dreamed of the things I would do in my twenties I envisioned traveling, getting married, finishing college, making first time adult purchases like buying a house, a car and of course would be on my way to financial stability. I've watched as nearly every friend I grew up or graduated high school with has gotten engaged, married, or is expecting their first or second child. If you know me, one would expect that I would have gone down a very “normal” path- with a splash of adventure thrown in. What I didn’t prepare for was the plan God had for my life- the truly extraordinary journey that lay ahead.

I have none of those things I listed above. At twenty six I am most definitely off the normal track I expected my life to follow. As a fourteen year old, in the midst of my parent’s chaotic divorce, this teen signed up for a study on the Holocaust for an entire summer with the University of South Florida. I spent the entire summer learning of mass genocide- of injustice- which looking back was a pretty remarkable subject to spend my summer researching since I was being exposed to the tragic injustice that existed within my own world. Years later I can now see that those few months of learning truth about global injustice and human suffering combined with learning about the father I thought I had, started me down a path that led to the journey I am currently on.  As a nineteen year old college freshman I watched Invisible Children’s Rough Cut. Little did I know that five years later the stories and movement behind that documentary would change my life.

Young Activists march through the streets of DC for peace

Do you ever look back and think of how certain moments or decisions transformed the path you were on? I’ve had those moments many times in 2012. There were so many things that have led me to be apart of Invisible Children and working to end the LRA’s atrocities. This past weekend the people I have worked hard alongside of for two years pulled off an event of not only historical proportions but extraordinary impact. Thousands of young people joined us in Washington D.C. for an event called MOVE:DC  we invited world leaders and representatives from the EU, AU, UN, ICC, US, CAR, DR Congo, Uganda, South Sudan and Sudan to attend the first ever Global Summit on the LRA. We marched through the streets of Washington D.C. joined by thousands of young people, a sea of red- filled with joy, hope and linked together by a common dream of justice. We merged cultures with thousands and made true the belief that our universal language is dance.

Global Dance Night

 Being a part of facilitating the event there were few moments to stop and experience what was happening- but when I did stop and take it in I was so unbelievably proud and humbled to be a part of this movement. I always am.

My friends- co workers-sisters

I work with some of the worlds smartest, compassionate, dedicated and creative people in the world. People who could be doing anything with their lives, but they choose to fight on behalf of others. But this weekend was different. We did it. We pulled it off- and did so on an extraordinary level. I was able to meet students and teachers from all over the country that I have been working with for over a year and there are no words for how much I respect and believe in them. This weekend I met world leaders, facilitated small events, and worked alongside the greatest team in the world. This weekend was made for the courageous and I am honored to be living an unpredictable life. It may not be the “norm” but I am head over heels in love with it. 

Truth

 One day I will get married, buy a house/car, have children but when those things unfold I will be the person I was meant to be- not just the person I could be.My life will also be full of adventure, big dreams and beautiful friendships I could have ever anticipated. I am just so thankful that my life went off course and that this is the road that met me. 

MOVE:DC