​My Activist

I have to admit.  I am so proud of my daughter.  She has become quite the activist.  It all started her junior year of high school when she became concerned with the environment.  One of her teachers told the class some statistic about the fate of the world and the next thing I knew, an environmental activist was born!  Her activism began at home.  No longer could we use liquid soap.  That was not earth friendly because of the plastic containers.  Now, I buy bar soap.  When I got a Keurig, we had to get the reusable coffee pods.  This actually made sense in two ways, it decreased the amount of plastic we were using, and it saved money in the long run.  Have you seen how much a box of Keurig pods cost?  Believe you me, a bag of ground coffee is much cheaper and lasts longer.  All throughout her junior year, my daughter researched environmental issues and decided that she wanted to make an impact on this world.  That is why I was not surprised that when Greta Thunberg came to New York City to rally and protest, my daughter was right there with her.  I was so proud.

My daughter not only researches environmental issues, but she is up on current events.  Thanks to social media, she knows all about Black Lives Matter movement and the injustices that people of color experience.  So, when the rallies and protests first started, I was not surprised when my daughter told me that she just HAD to protest.  I have to admit, I had seen some of the protests on the news.  Of course, the news focused mainly on the not so peaceful protests.  As a parent, part of me didn’t want to let her go.  I wanted to keep her locked up at home, safe from the evils of the world.  But, we all know that is not realistic.  Besides, who am I to hold her back?  Protesting was something that she strongly felt she needed to do.  If I held her back, what message would I be teaching her?  She needed to follow her spirit, so I let her go.  It was hard to do.  I was fearful for her safety, but luckily, the protest she attended was a peaceful demonstration.  There were no altercations with the police.  I am thankful for that.  I’m also glad my daughter went to her protest.  So many times, it is easy to sit back and complain.  My daughter followed her spirit and took action.

Her activism isn’t going to end.  She’s already expressed how she is going to find an organization in college to work with.  I’m so happy for her!  It is such a pleasure knowing that she is growing into a person of action.  I can’t wait to see what she does with her life!

Trust me.  As a parent, it is very hard, but we need to have the strength to step back to give our children the freedom to go out and experience the world on their terms.  There will be times when they will fall.  But, there will also be times when they will surprise and amaze us with their accomplishments.  We just need to be there providing them the encouragement they need to find their path.

So, now you know and you can … Consider Yourself Warned!

Parents, did you ever step back and let your kids do something you weren’t too thrilled about?  How did it turn out?