{"id":10557,"date":"2022-06-24T18:12:45","date_gmt":"2022-06-24T18:12:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saf-unite.org\/?p=10557"},"modified":"2022-06-29T13:43:43","modified_gmt":"2022-06-29T13:43:43","slug":"i-feel-certain-in-the-direction-my-feet-are-carrying-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saf-unite.org\/es\/i-feel-certain-in-the-direction-my-feet-are-carrying-me\/","title":{"rendered":"I feel certain in the direction my feet are carrying me"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u2013 Grace May, 2022 SAF intern
United for a Fair Economy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This prompt is deceptively easy as I am 20 and still have no idea who I am. I know the basics\u2026 my name is Grace, I\u2019m from Virginia, I have purple hair, I like pineapple on pizza. When I start going deeper, I become unsure of myself. I find doubt, questions like if I\u2019m on the right path, if I belong, if I should share my story or hold back. Throughout my life, I pledged to make myself valuable to others so they wouldn\u2019t leave. If I was not the smartest in the room, I was the funniest. If I wasn\u2019t the funniest, I was the most competitive. I didn\u2019t even realize I had created this facade until COVID happened and I was forced to sit and think. I stared at myself in the mirror and didn\u2019t recognize the person who stared back. The scary part? I don\u2019t know when I lost myself\u2026 and I\u2019ve been on a quest to find myself ever since. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through a series of interesting events, I wound up at UNC-Chapel Hill, desperately needing to fill my freshman year schedule. One class, taken on a whim, discussed policy surrounding migrant guestworkers in the United States. The more I learned, the more I wanted to change the policies surrounding farm work. Following this class, I became a sponge, soaking up as much information as I could concerning migrant rights and food policy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I continued to walk through UNC\u2019s campus, I began to feel less like a shadow. I worked with the local refugee community and formed life-long connections among families. I took classes that excited my brain. I joined the club rugby team. I helped families apply for rent stimulus. Now, things were not all dreamy. Far from it. The past three years have been the hardest of my life but, with each decision I make, each step forward I take, I have felt as though my body has become more whole. To best describe it: I have been reverse Thanos-snapped. All the sand particles have come back to form me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With my newfound assuredness, I decided to do something which absolutely terrified me: apply to SAF. I admired their work and found it aligned perfectly with my values and what I wanted to advocate. However, I found the old fear oozing back into my mind, filling the vacant spaces. What if I didn\u2019t belong? How could I contribute to the movement? Is it even my space to occupy? As the first Zoom call grew closer, I found doubt beginning to rival excitement as my primary emotion. Then, to make the fear worse, I discovered I would be a part of the theater group. Me. Ms. I-Get-Hives-When-I-Speak-In-Front-Of-Others. Ms. Never-Acted-In-Her-Life. Needless to say, I was terrified walking into the Avila retreat center. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I couldn\u2019t have been more wrong. I do not exaggerate when I say orientation week was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I have never experienced such unadulterated support and love from strangers. I saw the value of every single person\u2019s story, no matter their background. I saw the importance of vulnerability. I saw a community coming together with the wild dream of changing the lives of their families. And, for the first time in a long time, I feel certain in the direction my feet are carrying me. I cannot wait to see the stops along the way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2013 Grace May, 2022 SAF internUnited for a Fair Economy This prompt is deceptively easy as I am 20 and still have no idea who I am. I know the... [Read more]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":10558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[96,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-field-notes","category-uncategorized","entry"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t