Plantraits

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A plant picking morning turned into a photo of my roommate which then became a full blown photo shoot. The following is a collection of dear friends that I made during the school year who have modeled Christ to me through their patience, love, laughter, and willingness to support wherever my creative endeavors take me. Not only do they try all the foods that I make but they come up to my apartment at my first call and let me put plants all over them. Being only covered in products of the sun, I watched through my iphone lens as their bodies transformed into art. Here's to so much God given beauty, the power of trusting friends, and the best kind of accessory. 













Politics

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*For the past few weeks I have been sitting here trying to work up the courage to publish this post. After watching the Tank Man video which covers the Tainanman Square events in June 1989 I learned the story behind the iconic "Tank Man" image and found the push that I needed to publish this post. This is the perfect example that portrays the power of the many and more specifically the power of ONE. There is a link to the Frontline "Tank Man" video at the end of this post. And, as usual, I welcome comments and other ideas, so feel free to leave any comments. (The below image is not my own)



Whenever people mention politics or politicians the most common response that I hear is "oh I hate politics," and I completely understand why people say that. In their minds politics relates to greed, red tape, long lines, fancy suits, long speeches, taxes, a laundry list of things that never get checked off, and a far off hand of power that slowly moves things around. Something that we rarely consider is that politics is in our daily life. I don't mean the obvious experiences with government like when you go to the dmv, get pulled over for speeding, or like now when everyone is figuring out their taxes (thanks, Dad). I'm talking about the politics in our daily life and relationships; how we interact with people and keep order.

On my way home from school for spring break my roommate and I raced to downtown LA so I could catch the Megabus (really great bus for really low prices) I was running late! I arrived a few minutes before it was scheduled to leave so while running through the station, I only paused for a brief moment to sacrifice my recently purchased Latte that was spewing out all over the place. But, I made it just in time! I was the last one to board the bus and hunkered into my little seat. I looked around as slyly as I could to get acquainted with everyone and then buried myself in a book. Little did I know that this group of travelers will be my political community for the next 6 hours. 

 We stopped at the Burbank station to pick up a few more people that had to scavenge around for open seats. One man climbed on board the two decker bus and stopped at the first floor that was outfitted with two tables and four chairs near the driver and then a few other rows of chairs lined up behind them. Two women were occupying the table on the left and three young men were at the table to the right (and I was seated in the first row behind the table to the right). The man put his large bag down in the middle of the aisle and asked one woman (with a laptop and her things spread among the table) if she would let him in. The man did not know that this woman had already claimed her territory and that there would be no room for another traveler. She stood up for him but then promptly changed her mind; deciding that she did not have to give up her territory. She began to say things like "sir, no, you are going to make us (referring to the other woman at the table) uncomfortable for 6 hours. You can't sit here." 

The man "you can't be so selfish, I would like to sit here and use this table." 

"No, Sir. You can't sit here. I do not want you to sit here. You are not nice." 

"I just would like to sit here. I have a breakfast that I would like to eat at the table." 

"No, there are other seats and plenty of other places for you. You cannot sit here; you are being very rude to me." 

Then one of the young men from the table to the right, joined in, "hey, get your f-ing bag off of me! Do not touch me. Go sit somewhere else!" 

The man in shock sat down at the table in the vacant seat across from the woman and responded "do not speak to me that way, I was not bothering you. I have a breakfast that I want to eat here at the table, and if she would just scoot over a little, then I can."

The back and forth continued a few more times, and the woman, really wanting her space, was not going to back down. 

"Sir. No! You cannot sit here. You are very mean. Do you want me to get the driver involved? Please leave!"

The man continued his defense and then the driver stepped on board, "Driver, this man is bothering us (now referring to the profane young man at the table to the right, her only noticeable ally) “we do not want him to sit here, make him move." The man started to state his case to the driver and the driver looking around, trying to gauge the situation, simply responded that the seating was first come first serve and that he would have to move. 

The man was in disbelief, "I just want to sit at this table. I want to eat my breakfast. I only asked for her to move her computer over some so I can have a little space." 

The woman "Sir, if you do not move I am going to have to call the police. You are harassing us and keeping us from getting on the road." 

The driver, "sir you can move or get off." 

The man weighing his slim options, conceded and went to the second level where there are no tables, but "a lot of space" so he should be happy with that, right?

I am typically the kind of person that would speak up if I see injustices, there have been numerous occasions when I find myself marching across a parking lot to tell some people to pick up their garbage that they tossed out of their window. If someone is being bullied or picked on, I don't shy away and step in. This man was not asking for a lot, he just wanted some table space so he could eat his breakfast. And I don't think that someone should expect when choosing to sit at a table for four that no other person would like to sit there as well. But, I didn't say anything; I pretended not to be bothered by what was unfolding in front of me. Even with all of the ridiculousness of the young man's profanity. 

In that confrontation I was, once again, made aware of the systems we put ourselves in every day. There is some authority figure be it the law, police, judges, or a bus driver. There are always some people getting their side, or more importantly their rights, ignored, and some people turning the situation around to make it seem like the one losing the right is actually the bad guy. As a regular member of our bus population I had a role to play. I could be a peace keeper, a justice fighter, or a truth teller, and the real trouble is being all of those things at once. The situation was looking hostile. Could I have calmed the situation down by joining in, or was I going to make things worse and escalate it all? It's hard to tell. My friend asked if it all got settled in a dance-off, and I wish it had because that would have at least kept our little political system just. 

 Looking at the situation now and my role in the whole thing, I realize that I probably didn't do anything because I thought it was fine and over and that in 6 hours I won't be a member of this traveling community. But, my silence, although it can be argued kept the situation from escalating, it also let the injustice live on and fester inside me and taint our bus community. 
Politics are an unavoidable part of community because we are always living and working among people and in various relationships. From family political systems to school and office systems, order is always established. The authority figure has the duty of solving any problem and the power of having the final say. So we are told. I do believe that the rule of law has the final say, but if there is injustice being upheld by an authority figure then people should stand up and fight the situation. 

 Some people are just not given a chance; they get picked out and chosen beforehand, by a population that has power. The woman in the bus picked the outcast of the group, the profane young man seconded her, and the driver solidified it. If we look at the political systems in our daily life can we find people in our population that are being pushed aside? Maybe it's a family member, a group of people belonging to a religion, a group of students; maybe it is homeless people, prisoners, laborers, or people of a specific race. Or, maybe it isn't people at all; maybe it is animals and the earth that you notice. 

 I must make it clear that it was not the woman, the young profane man or the bus driver that decided the status of the out casted man. His place in our traveling community was decided by the rest of the population, because we in our silence agreed to it. We, as members of communities, must remember our power to lift people up and tear people down, both with our words and action as well as our silence and inaction. If there is a cause that you feel is tugging at your heart then talk about it. If you notice someone being bullied then be a difference maker in your political system and stand up for him or her. If you feel like you need to give more respect to an authority figure then do it. We are all members of both small and large political systems, and we can make a difference in all of them. One vote, one dollar not spent on something, one act of standing up, all makes a difference.

Do you relate more with the woman, the man, the young profane man, the bus driver, or the general population? If we acknowledge our place in our different systems we can begin to grow more aware of the power that we have on other people both in our immediate relationships and on people that we have never met. 

 *Click here for the video and story behind the "Tank Man" 
We all do not need to become Tank Men, rather we can draw from his courage, his frustration, and his desire for change in our every day life. 

This Year

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We have been in 2014 for two weeks now and I have wanted to put together my thoughts and feelings about 2013 but I just couldn’t figure out a concise way to say all that I want to say; you know like a short and sweet post that encompasses the highs and lows of the year and then ends with an uplifting bit about the greatness that is bound to ensue in this next year. But, I struggle with short and concise. See, even my first sentence was a long-winded run-on…

My second semester here at this little University has just begun, my required course books are coming in one by one, I’m thoroughly reading through every syllabus, and I’m starting to get overwhelmed with it all. I have one class on Mondays and it is my political science major’s upper division writing course. In my professor’s lecture she included in her powerpoint a quote by William Strunk Jr that is meant to convey the type of skills we would be polishing throughout the semester,

“Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all sentences short or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.”


This is what I want to do. I want to be clear and concise. I want to say what I need to say, write what I need to write, and edit and delete certain words, ideas, and actions that do not coincide with the thesis of my life. This year I want to think more about the little everyday decisions that slowly shape the person that I become, or how I am perceived, received, and treated; the everyday actions that start to sway my life and steer it away from my thesis. Just a few wrong words can change the whole meaning of your paper; similarly, a few small actions and decisions can shape the direction of your life. This year I want to be intentional; I want all my words, steps, thoughts, breaths, and dreams to matter and to all refer back to my thesis. 

I want my 2014 to have a series of never-ending commas when I’m describing all the wonderful people that enter into my life, regretless periods at the end of all my days, ellipses when I know that I’m not in the right mindset to have certain conversations, thousands of exclamation marks—some randomly added just because life is that good(!), confident question marks when I ask the silly questions, the gross questions, the important questions, and most importantly, the hard questions, new paragraphs for every twist and turn and wonderful unexpectedness, and colons when I’m listing out all the things that God has blessed me with. This year I want to hold to my thesis. I know even in my idealistic mind that I will trail off, that I will have sections that don’t match my thesis, I know that I’ll say and do things that I would be ashamed to ever write down, but I know more still that God is my editor and that he will mark up my 2014 with all kinds of corrections, and that the red grace of Jesus will correct all of my errors and mistakes and make my 2014 beautiful, clear, concise, and support my thesis.