Her name is Everly Grace and she came into this world on December 1st; a water dragon baby like her grandmother. Fire and water. I hope she becomes a nonconformist. As a white baby, she already has a privilege-lined path to walk upon. It’s so easy to lull oneself to sleep on such a path. I know. I have done it. And while I have slept, others have lived tortured lives of oppression.
So, as my sleeping granddaughter lays in my arms, I whisper “challenge the status quo” “speak out against injustice” ” change the system” and “be a radical prophet for love”
Yet, my words are not enough. I must show her by my actions that I refuse to conform to a path that privileges some at the expense of others.
I listen to the whispers of those who have gone before me and seek courage to step again and again on the path of nonconformity.