Truth.
(Source: brotips)
To Write Love on Her Arms: Behind The Scenes: Jason Russell is my friend.
Jason Russell is my friend.Jason Russell is my friend. i reached out to him a few years ago, as TWLOHA was starting to take off. i was a fan of Invisible Children and it seemed we could learn a lot from them, and i could learn a lot from him. Like IC, TWLOHA was born from a story and the surprising response to that story.
Jason and i have been friends ever since - he and i, as well as members of our team and members of the IC team. As the world has seen, Jason is brilliant in his talent and creativity. Personally, i also know his kindness and compassion. Jason has been there for me in difficult times in recent years and even in recent months.
Working on TWLOHA over the last six years, there is much that i am thankful for and very proud of. There have also been moments and seasons that were deeply painful. Dealing with criticism and people saying things about TWLOHA and me personally that were not true. Dealing with constant travel for events. There have been times i felt close to a breakdown. There have been times i was supposed to speak on behalf of TWLOHA but our team didn’t let me get on the plane to go. They said i needed to take care of me, needed to make helping Jamie a priority. i have gone through two seasons of counseling and i have been on anti-depressants for nearly three years now.
i share all of this not for pity or some strange confession. i share all of this because mental health is a real thing. The things we talk about - people needing people, people needing help at times - i believe these things to be true.
Life is fragile. Life is complex. We are capable of great good. We are capable of madness.
i don’t know the details of what happened yesterday in San Diego. i don’t know the truth. In some ways, perhaps it’s not important. i know my friend needs help. i know he needs a break. i know i can’t begin to know the whirlwind he has experienced over the last two weeks - the attention, the popularity, the criticism, the exhaustion…
i believe in Invisible Children. i believe in their KONY 2012 campaign. i want to see Kony caught and brought to justice. i want to see lives saved. i want to see children in Africa and around the world raised in safety and in peace.
If you want these things as well, then please continue to support Invisible Children.
IC exists to end a war in Africa.
TWLOHA exists to say that there are wars inside of all of us.
The goal is peace, in Uganda, in Congo, inside you, inside me.
We are all a people in need.
We are not perfect. We are not machines.
We make mistakes.
We need grace. We need compassion.
We need help at times.We need other people.
And that’s okay.
jamie
(via failureinthisworld)
In 2005 I saw a documentary called Invisible Children. That night my eyes were opened to a horrific tragedy. A war fueled by child soldiers and run by a man named Joseph Kony. All I wanted was to tell the world, and do something about it.
Between 2005 and 2006 I attended many concerts where I could talk with Invisible Children representatives and find out as much as I could about the war and what I could do to help.
In 2007 I attended an Invisible Children event called ‘Displace Me.’ I lived in a cardboard city for a night to bring awareness to a war that had escaped attention for too long. Ever since then flags have hung all over my room. They simply state ‘EVERY WAR HAS AN END’
In 2008 I took an extended trip to Africa. Living in Kenya during a time of civil unrest, I got a chance to visit an internal displacement camp and see the kind of conditions I had been trying to bring to light 3 years earlier.
In 2009 I took apart in The Rescue and held out to the very end outside of Oprah’s studios. I then took a trip to DC for Lobby Days to talk with Senators and Representatives about doing something about what was happening in Uganda.
In 2010 I slept outside of Tom Coburn’s offices with an amazing group of passionate people I now refer to as family. We were fighting for the bill we had been trying to get sponsored and passed in our time in DC. Coco had put a hold on it. After days of a community forming on his doorstep, he removed the hold. The bill passed soon after.
In 2011 I rejoiced as Obama announced he was sending advisors to help in Ugandan government in their apprehension efforts.
Welcome to 2012.
This the year we will see Joseph Kony brought to justice, but not by our silence. It will be done by our actions. We must stop at nothing to make his name and his crimes known to the world.
Join the movement to stop Kony and see the longest running war in Africa come to an end. Watch the video, learn about Kony and his crimes, and then speak out about it.
What the what?! This is amazing. I seriously love this show.
As I was ridding my computer of useless documents
I found this old blog from tour and it filled me with so much joy that I decided to share it with you all again.
“Greetings from Dumas, Arkansas!
Georgia ended up being better than we ever expected! Not only was the screening at KCPC incredible—but we were invited back to speak at the English Ministry’s Sunday service. It was incredible to meet people who were moved, even after only seeing a couple Stories of Hope. Even more amazing was how much merchandise people from the Korean Ministry purchased…they hadn’t even seen our presentation, yet were so willing to give!
Also in Atlanta, Rene told us that he had the BEST burger ever from a “little hole in the wall” restaurant. When we asked him where it was from, he said it was called something like “Five Guys”. He has yet to live it down.
Some really amazing people in Atlanta opened their homes to us. We stayed with a very sweet family after presenting at KCPC. Their daughters were adorable and were very passionate about North Korea. One of them even made a LiNK coffee mug during her sunday school. We then stayed with an energetic dancer named Liz. She is quite talented and her dance crew, “Swagger Crew”, were contestants on America’s Best Dance Crew! She was a lot of fun to stay with and has great taste in YouTube videos! Then for a few nights we got to stay with some awesome guys (Dan and Zach) who have started their own non-profit organization with their roommates called Give Us Names; an organization working to end displacement in Colombia, South America. Dan and Zach greeted us with pie and were determined to make our stay relaxing and fun. To end our stay they introduced us to a great park where we watched the sun set behind the Atlanta skyline. It was beautiful! Georgia was so good to us!
Florida was a bit of a rough screening week for us, although the downtime we had there was a ton of fun. Chelsea’s dad took us out to eat some authentic Cuban food, where Rene tried ox tail and fell in love with flan. We also made a trip out to Cocoa Beach which was Bridget’s first time ever going to the beach! While at Elyssa’s house, we attempted to make a Paula Deen strawberry cake for someone’s birthday, but it turned into a strawberry-avalanche cake. It’s the thought that counts.
Now we’re in Dumas, Arkansas, spending time with some of Elyssa’s family before our Little Rock screening on Wednesday. Dumas is a bit small, but full of character. Today, we attempted to kill time at a Wal-Mart, but were informed that a tornado recently demolished it. We will have to come up with something else!
We officially only have one week left of tour! None of us can believe that it is coming to an end already. Our voyage back starts on the 12th, so we’re excited to see some of you lovely people soon!
Until next time,
Southeast Nomads”
It just makes me miss LiNK and tour even more! I have got to get back to Torrance.
The advertising dollars buy the right to stifle antonyms/ To sterilize the truth with fiction/ So we can sing their corporate hymns/ Though all of us were cowed and bought it/ Hardly anybody got it/ But we were scared/ Or too bemused/ And so we still turned on the news
—Anchors Away- Five Iron Frenzy
One of these days
I am going to sit and write a nice, long blog about my life and what has been happening since I moved back to the STL.
However, that day is not today. Instead I will leave you with some words from Henry David Thoreau:
“I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately, I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life; to put to rout all that was not life and not when I had come to die, discover that I had not lived.”
There’s nothing my heart can do, but fight with time and space. Because I’m still stuck in the moment with you…
—This lyric sums up my feelings perfectly right now.
Muny auditions are now in February
instead of March! AHHHH, AND MY SHEET MUSIC HASN’T ARRIVED YET! I’m FREAKING OUT. But only a little.
Not really, I’m freaking out a lot.
I need an accompanist/vocal coach NOW. Working on that.
For now, I MUST do vocal exercises everyday.
I’ve gotten really lazy.
BLAH! I want this SO BAD!
I need to GET TO WORK.
