Wahid's Words

These words are not a revelation, and they are not original. The credit for arming me with this capacity for discourse goes to the eloquent women in my life and victims of any form of harassment in general. Thank you for sharing your stories and your feelings.  Content Warning: sexual assault, sexual harassment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There are more Harvey Weinsteins in the world than not; this is fact. As men, we continuously contribute to a society where everyone that isn't born male, identifying and presenting male, feels threatened, because for generations upon generations, power structures have benefitted them for nothing other than the fact that they were born male and decided they were fulfilled remaining that way. Social Media is powerful, proven by the #metoo campaign and its far-reaching range, roping in stories from individuals all over the globe that have experienced some form of sexual harassment or sexual assault. More often tha...

Being present in discussions of other communities with the intention to learn and not contribute, allows us to create these bridges we keep speaking of, because once we understand another group/individual's struggles, the links with our own become so much clearer. If we only pool our resources together in this manner, then maybe we can work towards a place where we truly understand each other's needs and advocate for the collective, not just our individual struggles. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If ya'll have been keeping up with my multiple instagram posts (follow me @thirdworldjar thx), you'll know that I was in Sacramento over the past weekend. What I haven't talked about yet is why I was there, and so I wanted to take some time and elaborate on that, and my experiences in the city in general. First of all, I honestly fell in love with Sacramento. The beautiful, organized streets, the tram, the cold-ish weather- checked off all ...

It is up to celebrities to uplift and highlight the narratives of their fans. By buying into their product (their music, their humor, their beauty), our investment is a crucial component of their survival. Celebrities that not only understand, but acknowledge this codependent relationship between their fans and themselves are those that I am proud to support.  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sophia Bush is one of my favorite celebrities- although the initial fascination started with her heart shaped lips and raspy voice that lent itself so well to the heartache that was Brooke Davis on One Tree Hill, it quickly transitioned into an admiration for her dedication to using her platform to better the world. From her environmental advocacy, to her pursuit of giving girls and women an equal access to education, to advocating on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community through media campaigns and fundraising events, she is the epitome of the "activist" we want ou...

An oath I made to myself about the student government elections. I need this constant reminder to stay true to myself, and my beliefs in the democratic process. I will not tire in my pursuit of getting good people that have a passion and dedication and ability to do their work to public office. This I will pursue for the rest of my life, in whatever capacity I can. I hope you will all join me. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Open letter to USAC: I know your elections are coming up. I know I've involved myself in them intensely. I know that I'm pretty much living and breathing this for the past 2 months, and it's only going to get worse. I know that most people, unlike me, don't really care, and vote so they can say "I already voted" on Bruinwalk during election week with a clean conscience. I also know the power of a vote- this tune for me has never changed. Voting is a sacred right, and I believ e anyone anywhere anytime deser...