Phree Opportunities


“Did you get my message?” my grandfather asked.
“No pop. I didn’t even check it. I just saw I missed your call and called you right back,” I said.
“Oh ok. I was just checking to make sure you got out to the polls today.”
“I sure did pop. I went right after work.”
Did I got to the polls? Was he smoking the same thing Snoop smokes? Of course I exercised my right to vote. Not voting was not an option. When you are a person of color and a woman, at least for me, there is a value to having such a right. There is something to be said for the blood, sweat, and tears that made it possible for me to walk to the polls unharrassed, greeted warmly by volunteers, and thanked profusely for coming out. Did I vote? Not voting would be anti Phreedum.
Don’t get me wrong. There most definitely is a part of me that really wonders how much my vote really counts in the grand scheme of things. When I look at the condition the public schools are in, healthcare, rates of homelessness, rates of diseases such as HIV/AIDS I do have to wonder if my walk in the brisk autumn air to push a button and pull a lever will really count. However, after all my wonderings and ponderings I conclude that that as stated earlier not voting is not an option. It’s part of my freedoms. It’s part of our freedoms. It is freedom which begets Phreedum.
I don’t know if the people voted into office will make the changes that I believe need to be made. What I do know is that I value every opportunity I have to inspire change and that is what voting is about. It’s about taking an opportunity to effect change and hoping it’s the change you desire. At Phreedum that is our hope. It is our hope to seek out opportunities through our designs and our partnerships to inspire change, to ignite hope, and to help people be phree.

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