What if we chose to see each other Long have I watched as wedges are driven between us by those with power, with influence, with something to gain. They tell us we are different because of what we believe, how we look, or where we come from. They frame our differences as walls, not bridges. But here’s what I know: No one is born wanting to hate. No one is born wanting to divide. We all arrive here with the same instinct: to be happy, to be seen, to belong. We don’t have to be the same to make that happen. Our differences are not flaws; they are what push us to listen, to learn, to find that middle ground where everyone can thrive. Yet when we are made to feel small, when we are told there isn’t enough for everyone, some of us grasp at extremes, at anger, at anything that promises purpose or protection. But that is not who we are. Call me idealistic. Call me naive. But what if we turned this around? What if, instead of accepting division as inevitable, we chose to make life more beautiful? What if, together, we changed the narative? I know this isn’t the easy way. But I’m done going with the flow. If I just drift with the stream, I drown in unhappiness. I want something else for this world, and for the generations that follow. So I choose to swim into the stream. To push back. To ask: what if we created a world where everyone has a place? We are not meant to be divided. We are meant to see each other not as threats, but as fellow travelers, not as enemies, but as mirrors. The world does not have to be this way. We do not have to accept the frames we are given. We can choose to look beyond them. To reach out. To build something better. Because in the end, we are all here for the same reason: to connect, to grow, to leave this world a little kinder than we found it. #introductions