I used to wish I had dreadlocks and piercings.
I had just transferred from a university in rural North Dakota to a school that had a school body six times larger than my home town.
That day I went to the student center eager to make a difference and desperately hungry for community.
As I walked, I was holding a print out of the office locations for all of the student organizations in the building. These were the days when the printer paper had holes on the sides.
I found the cubicle for “The Progressive Student Organization.”
With “I-am-new-in-town” nerves, I walked up to the only woman in the cube and shared that I was interested in potentially becoming a volunteer. As she spoke about what they were doing to end animal suffering, I admired her dreadlocks and tattoos as signs of defiance and commitment to something bigger than herself.
A part of me yearned to be the one who threw her body on the street during a protest. A part of me wanted to “the girl with the dreadlocks and piercings.”
But years later, I realize that it wasn’t about the adornment. It was about the activism.
I know that I am not alone.
“I am Mexican. I am Jewish. I am a Woman. … In my heart, I am an activist but you won’t find me taking to the streets to protest. I have found other ways to voice my concerns, other outlets through which to take action and use my talents to really make a difference.“
These are the words of Claudia Romo Edelman, our special guest of this week’s episode of Expat Happy Hour.
Claudia Romo Edelman is a special adviser at UNICEF. She is a Co-Host of Global GoalsCast, a podcast and initiative of We Are All Human Foundation that highlights stories of people seeking to achieve a more sustainable world.
The GoalsCast focuses on 17 specific commitments to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. Most importantly, it offers specific action we each can take to make a difference.
In this episode Podcasting for a More Sustainable Future you will learn:
- How to battle the sense of helplessness in the face of the sheer magnitude of what has to be done
- The surprising thing we have to pay attention to if we want to make an impact
- How a climate of distrust is reversing progress, and what we can do to change that
- How you can take simple but powerful action to support the issues that mean the most to you,
- And more.
Listen now to start supporting positive change.
Here is to making a difference, one step at a time.
