Because most times, it's just about showing up.

Almost daily I park about a ten minute walk away from my school. Some of the girls I speak with there, won't park on the particular part of town because they're afraid. I try to help alleviate their concern by sharing that I not so long ago had elected to live with some friends right there in the midst of the "danger." I know that not everyone is well intentioned; however I choose to believe that all people are good. I see it at their cores. And it's from that place that I attempt to interact and engage.

And it's with that stance that I walk through this particular neighborhood. There is a one stretch block that feels so uncared for. And it shows. Debris from the mishandled dumping of the garbage cans to the garbage trucks ends up blown into the residents yards, boulevards, and run over in the street. In turn, it seems that people just add to it because of how it already looks. One day I caught myself wondering how people could let their community reach this point. Immediately I start to think of rounding up a group of kids to share the importance of taking care of what we have and doing a neighborhood beautification day. But this would require, time, and investment to rally the people. It's something I want to do, BUT I'm investing my time differently these days that don't leave so much space for these sorts of efforts just yet. I'm working on being able to do this very thing with a few more letters behind my name... Go figure.

I caught myself with the words, 'why don't they....?" And I realized that for someone to be able to take care of something they have to see it's value- they have to see their value. We care where we see value. Immediately I was overcome with the raw unseen value that each resident had buried under the litter of their social stigmas. Wanting to counter this marginalization, I asked for a plastic bag and gloves from my place of learning, and cleaned my way back to my car, Atsidi. Picking up the debris left behind by others and those who lived in these houses, I felt that with each piece that I was unearthing something deeper within this neighborhood. Because I see it as beautiful, full of good people. I choose to see it that way. And this little seemingly insignificant act bears so much more weight. I'm attempting to let the residents know that I see them in their beauty, and I hope to help others see the beauty I see in this place by removing the debris that impedes their vision.

It's the little things.

I understand that this action isn't the most sustainable of action. But. For now, it's all I've got- so I'm givin' it.