Why I want to be an activist

I want to put my body on the line for something that actually matters.

I want to scream back at the people who insist that they have a right to destroy my world in the name of property and for the sake of profit.

I want to wade through the fog of grey areas and complications and find one thing I can commit to doing with every part of my being because it’s absolutely, unquestionably right.

I want to be surrounded by people who never tell me that I should turn down the fire burning inside me.

I want to prove to myself that solidarity and uncompromising love for the earth cannot be stopped by tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets or beatings.

I want to do more than understand the problems and be more than an intellectual who writes well and speaks passionately.

I want to feel the thrill of not compromising, even if it’s only for a night.

I want to spend my evenings in cafes and anarchist collective bookstores drinking microbrews and plotting revolution until sunrise.

I want to fall in love with someone who’s crazy enough to fight for something bigger than himself.

I want to believe that change is possible.

I want to be on the right side of history, even if it means going to jail.

I want to be young and stupid and free.