My confession today, I'm a proud activist.
The Rescue. To honestly say that this event was the best thing that has ever happened in my short lived life, would be a MASSIVE understatement. The energy was incredible, the passion was invigorating, the voices were hopeful, the people were amazing. We in New York City stood at three thousand people, united as one in hopes to end the war in Uganda and Congo. As a unit, we made the sacrifice to spend twenty-four hours in the streets. On the night of April 25th, we all shared one voice, one hope, one heart. Together, we created media attention to catch the eye of the people who don't know. Together, along with One HUNDRED other cities, we spoke for the voiceless child soldiers and people in Norther Uganda and Congo.
It was amazing. I was breathless so many times, and not just from the blistering heat or the many boxes and lights I helped carry. But from the people who care, the people who helped make our voices heard for the children. I'm not going to lie and say that I didn't cry, because I did. It all felt like a dream, I never believed that there was so many people who actually cared. Sure, I saw the number on the site for New York City. But I really don't think it hit me until that night, when we all stood as one. That night, I made so many life long friends. People who are just as passionate about this cause as I am.
I'm so unbelievably thankful that I got involved with this outstanding cause. I've been hardcore advocating since the past two weeks, urging anyone that will listen to just go out and lend their support. And it really paid off. I didn't expect anything in return, I didn't expect that I'd care for people I only just met, I didn't expect anything to be so moving. What I got in return was nothing any one person could ever give me, a sense of true belonging.
In the Harry Potter fandom, I feel as though I can truly be myself. That I never have to hide in fear of being on the receiving end of a joke. I never actually met a hardcore Harry Potter fan like myself, I never sat down and talked to them face to face. Never in my life have I felt more at home than online with this amazing fandom. But it's not the same as being face to face with someone who is just as passionate as you are. I hope to meet all my friends here on the ning, as well as myleaky. April 25th was the day that I felt like I found my home, my mecca, my sweet and safe haven. People, just like me, want to make a difference. Never in my dizziest days, did I think I'd feel such an amazing energy as I did that day and night. It was indescribable, amazing and magical (all pun intended :D ).
On our way in Manhattan, my mom was trying to find her way to the Empire Fulton Ferry State Park. Our LRA campsite for the night. Seeing as she didn't listen to my directions at all, we got lost. Effectively making me late to the volunteer meeting before The Rescue. It was about 9:30 or so at this time. There was an accident going from the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn bridge to the Brooklyn side (does that make any sense?). So there was NO WAY I could have gotten to the meeting even remotely on time. Our solution: walk, across the Brooklyn Bridge and down to the park.
And so we did, me and my two friends! I carried a HUGE box of rope (2,00 feet!) more than half of the way, which sounds crazy. In short, we got lost (I have no idea how this happened honestly). We asked a police officer for help, and he escorted us to the park. I met the rest of the volunteer team, and I even met Laren Poole, one of the CEOs of Invisible Children. He was amazingly awesome in every way imaginable. That day, we volunteers did some hardcore manual labor. But it all paid off that night, to see the smiling, hopeful faces of the people who cared about children that they will never meet in their lives. It was all so worth it.
Around 2 pm, me and the abduction site team went to New York City Hall, our destined abduction site. At around 5:30 pm we started the walk, peaceful and meaningful. Over 3,000 people showed up at the site. And it was amazing. My group was the last to go, effectively ending the walk with mostly volunteers who didn't stay behind to make sure there wasn't any stragelers. When I got into the park, Laren was speaking. He was stating why we were staying the night, the cause we were sacrificing twenty-four hours for, the children we were speaking for. His speech was moving, touching and so heartfelt that tears formed into my eyes.
Later on, all 3,00 people formed an ocean of bodies and we did some photo opts and documentary footage for the next Invisible Children movie about The Rescue. This, made me almost bawl out in tears right then and there. The atmosphere was full of hope and impending change. We all felt that night that we WERE going to make a difference, our voices WERE going to be heard, we wouldn't leave until we got rescued.
Around 8 or 9 pm that night, New York CIty got rescued! Chris Lowell, Yin Chang, Jon Turtletaub, Amy Eldon Turteltaub, Jay Baruchel and Teresa Palmer all came out to rescue us! They're speeches were inspiring and outstanding as well. Just perfect. After being rescued (and a bit before), we were told to start writing our letters to our government officials. For me, it was Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, my New York senators. They, along with numerous others, were supposed to come out and rescue the brave souls who bared the the night in the park. But they never showed, whether they had another engagement or something important, we'll never know. But what is important is that NYC got RESCUED!
There are still cities out there who need rescuing! We went from one hundred to approximentley three or four cities awaiting their rescuers. Please, help them get rescued! Bring these brave souls home so we can all start doing even MORE work to help end this on going war in Uganda and Congo. Go to www.invisiblechildren.com or www.nightof.therescue.invisiblechildren.com and see what YOU can do to help EVERYONE be rescued. We won't rest until every single city is rescued and we let people know that this isn't okay to ignore this problem. We said "Never Again", so why is it still happening?
To sum up everything I felt at The Rescue in New York City in three simple words: amazing, hopeful, inspiring. I loved every single minute of this event. The aching muscles, the sore throat, the blazing fever , the scorching sunburn: was all worth it. And I'd do this all again in a heartbeat, just to see the faces of the hopeful, the voices of the activist, the determined looks of the inspiring. I wouldn't hesitate to do it ALL over again.
The Rescue. To honestly say that this event was the best thing that has ever happened in my short lived life, would be a MASSIVE understatement. The energy was incredible, the passion was invigorating, the voices were hopeful, the people were amazing. We in New York City stood at three thousand people, united as one in hopes to end the war in Uganda and Congo. As a unit, we made the sacrifice to spend twenty-four hours in the streets. On the night of April 25th, we all shared one voice, one hope, one heart. Together, we created media attention to catch the eye of the people who don't know. Together, along with One HUNDRED other cities, we spoke for the voiceless child soldiers and people in Norther Uganda and Congo.
It was amazing. I was breathless so many times, and not just from the blistering heat or the many boxes and lights I helped carry. But from the people who care, the people who helped make our voices heard for the children. I'm not going to lie and say that I didn't cry, because I did. It all felt like a dream, I never believed that there was so many people who actually cared. Sure, I saw the number on the site for New York City. But I really don't think it hit me until that night, when we all stood as one. That night, I made so many life long friends. People who are just as passionate about this cause as I am.
I'm so unbelievably thankful that I got involved with this outstanding cause. I've been hardcore advocating since the past two weeks, urging anyone that will listen to just go out and lend their support. And it really paid off. I didn't expect anything in return, I didn't expect that I'd care for people I only just met, I didn't expect anything to be so moving. What I got in return was nothing any one person could ever give me, a sense of true belonging.
In the Harry Potter fandom, I feel as though I can truly be myself. That I never have to hide in fear of being on the receiving end of a joke. I never actually met a hardcore Harry Potter fan like myself, I never sat down and talked to them face to face. Never in my life have I felt more at home than online with this amazing fandom. But it's not the same as being face to face with someone who is just as passionate as you are. I hope to meet all my friends here on the ning, as well as myleaky. April 25th was the day that I felt like I found my home, my mecca, my sweet and safe haven. People, just like me, want to make a difference. Never in my dizziest days, did I think I'd feel such an amazing energy as I did that day and night. It was indescribable, amazing and magical (all pun intended :D ).
On our way in Manhattan, my mom was trying to find her way to the Empire Fulton Ferry State Park. Our LRA campsite for the night. Seeing as she didn't listen to my directions at all, we got lost. Effectively making me late to the volunteer meeting before The Rescue. It was about 9:30 or so at this time. There was an accident going from the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn bridge to the Brooklyn side (does that make any sense?). So there was NO WAY I could have gotten to the meeting even remotely on time. Our solution: walk, across the Brooklyn Bridge and down to the park.
And so we did, me and my two friends! I carried a HUGE box of rope (2,00 feet!) more than half of the way, which sounds crazy. In short, we got lost (I have no idea how this happened honestly). We asked a police officer for help, and he escorted us to the park. I met the rest of the volunteer team, and I even met Laren Poole, one of the CEOs of Invisible Children. He was amazingly awesome in every way imaginable. That day, we volunteers did some hardcore manual labor. But it all paid off that night, to see the smiling, hopeful faces of the people who cared about children that they will never meet in their lives. It was all so worth it.
Around 2 pm, me and the abduction site team went to New York City Hall, our destined abduction site. At around 5:30 pm we started the walk, peaceful and meaningful. Over 3,000 people showed up at the site. And it was amazing. My group was the last to go, effectively ending the walk with mostly volunteers who didn't stay behind to make sure there wasn't any stragelers. When I got into the park, Laren was speaking. He was stating why we were staying the night, the cause we were sacrificing twenty-four hours for, the children we were speaking for. His speech was moving, touching and so heartfelt that tears formed into my eyes.
Later on, all 3,00 people formed an ocean of bodies and we did some photo opts and documentary footage for the next Invisible Children movie about The Rescue. This, made me almost bawl out in tears right then and there. The atmosphere was full of hope and impending change. We all felt that night that we WERE going to make a difference, our voices WERE going to be heard, we wouldn't leave until we got rescued.
Around 8 or 9 pm that night, New York CIty got rescued! Chris Lowell, Yin Chang, Jon Turtletaub, Amy Eldon Turteltaub, Jay Baruchel and Teresa Palmer all came out to rescue us! They're speeches were inspiring and outstanding as well. Just perfect. After being rescued (and a bit before), we were told to start writing our letters to our government officials. For me, it was Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, my New York senators. They, along with numerous others, were supposed to come out and rescue the brave souls who bared the the night in the park. But they never showed, whether they had another engagement or something important, we'll never know. But what is important is that NYC got RESCUED!
There are still cities out there who need rescuing! We went from one hundred to approximentley three or four cities awaiting their rescuers. Please, help them get rescued! Bring these brave souls home so we can all start doing even MORE work to help end this on going war in Uganda and Congo. Go to www.invisiblechildren.com or www.nightof.therescue.invisiblechildren.com and see what YOU can do to help EVERYONE be rescued. We won't rest until every single city is rescued and we let people know that this isn't okay to ignore this problem. We said "Never Again", so why is it still happening?
To sum up everything I felt at The Rescue in New York City in three simple words: amazing, hopeful, inspiring. I loved every single minute of this event. The aching muscles, the sore throat, the blazing fever , the scorching sunburn: was all worth it. And I'd do this all again in a heartbeat, just to see the faces of the hopeful, the voices of the activist, the determined looks of the inspiring. I wouldn't hesitate to do it ALL over again.
My solution to my confession, keep working to find justice in the world. I'm no super heroine, but I can damn well try as hard as I can to be like one. I will save the world. I will make change. I will break down the walls of injustice. I will not give up, ever.
TTFN!
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