Living in the ‘Sacrifice Zone’ that I do, has, ironically, given me a new purpose in life. Growing up, I tried to care for others, but it has truly been since the Pandemic that I have better learned how to help others. My life expectancy is down 10 or more years compared to the rest of King County and 15 compared to Laurelhurst. Recently, I have been contacting tree groups for projects and gaining better self-confidence. I’ve also been using funds from selling my environmental art merchandise to help work into garden infrastructure.
Growing up, I was not very confident in myself. I had no backbone and didn’t really have my disabilities under control. Ironically, it was my former Stepdad that helped me with that. He was a tough parental figure, so it encouraged me to grow one. This has carried into my work in the community and self-confidence in being a journalist and self-published author, as well as start my work in music. I’ve also come to the realization that if I don’t push myself that our community will never get better.
I’m part of a grass-roots community group who is motivated by helping the community and not by money at all. I work on educating the community through flyers and writings. I’m also working at getting a job in water conservation with King County to help try and get our river clean. The Duwamish River is a ‘Superfund Site’ due to the tremendous amount of toxic chemicals being dumped in the river, starting in the 40’s by Boeing, and later, more and more companies. I also run a mutual aid table to help those in need, when I have the time. Doing my part to put in safety nets for others is very important to me.
https://www.ef.com/wwen/blog/efacademyblog/importance-giving-back-to-your-community/
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