Delayed gratification. A term most find annoying at best, improbable at worst. Never have those two words meant more to me than this morning. Three planes, 2 countries, and 1 bus ride later we walked a plank and stepped into an alternate reality. Is this really happening? Did the planets really align? I mean, they took four years to do so, which in the grand scheme of things is nothing more than a tiny blip in a lifetime of adventures.
Joining Rites of Passage and Empowerment (ROPE) has been key in helping us find community out here in the Berkshires. No sugar coating- this county is both white, rural, conservative, racist and full of theatre, music, the outdoors, and pockets of loving, open-minded people. Massachusetts may be the most liberal state in the US, but we are far from Boston. Here, minutes from New York and Vermont, the sounds of performative equity can be heard from the tone deaf school administrators who "don't see color" and have voiced that "race was not an issue till we brought it up", to the lack of representation in politics, restaurants, stores, and general day to day. We have lived in places across the country, and have yet to stumble upon a place that felt fully welcoming. I don't say this to complain, it is merely a statement of my lived experience thus far and an acknowledgement of the work it takes as a Black woman to make friends, have meaningful relationships, g...
Have fun! I'm entirely jealous of your trip.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have the best time!!! Can't wait to see more photos!!!
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