Nicki's Blog - Archived Entry

I’m not the same person I was last month. Most people usually aren’t, and to write that feels trite. But last month I contributed to the changing lives of a great deal of people, so it seems my change is exponentially building off of that. . .
Last month, along with another noble soul, I led the DVRV August Caravan across the United States. The entire west to east coast, ocean to ocean. It was a tremendously powerful and ephemeral two weeks in my life. I’ve been told it was powerful in others’ lives as well. I can’t imagine sitting idly by as our nation slips away ever again. I am certain now, knowing firsthand, that we each have incredible power as individuals and collectively can move mountains, even big ugly Texas ones.
I am struck by the lingering memories of the people I registered to vote last month. A Japanese reporter followed me through an impoverished, crime-ridden neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio as I knocked on doors labeled “BEWARE of ferocious dog” and “Trespassers will be shot!” Her presence added a surreal quality to the afternoon, her camera snapping and questions adding depth to the experience. I registered people fixing their car in the street that had been stolen 3 times that year and a 50 year old couple that had never voted before because they never understood how to sign up. I looked ridiculous enough in my ruffled green skirt, yellow DV shirt, and American flag wrist bands that no one bothered me, they figured I must be legitimate or a looney TinkerBelle who made a wrong turn at “The Bottoms.” Residents were suspicious, many were incredulous, but after persistent explanations of the nature of my purpose, many registered to vote. Some even got excited and agreed to put a “remember to vote” sign in their yard—even though they figured it would “get stolen or shot at within a day.” I haven’t been the same since that day.
I haven’t been the same since I bore witness to the phenomenal beauty and power of having more than a dozen friends commit significant portions of their lives to empowering and supporting their fellow citizens. Many of us rarely slept and certainly rarely slept well on that adventurous journey across 3,000 miles and 8 cities in the bumpy at-times-smelly RV. But we loved it. We shared so much joy at the collectiveness and bondedness that comes from a common goal and shared vision and unified passion. We shared the magical sense of change that comes from seeing this country up close, in the little corners of the neighborhoods, local parks, and road stops. We shared the awakening of realizing that this is the kind of thing that every citizen should be doing at some point in her life, to know thyself, thy countrymen, and thy country. We shared beers too. And swimming and dancing. We rapped our way home in a huge group dance through the streets of Pittsburgh after registering voters all night in clubs, and I got to drive. There is no way I am the same person after that.
So many amazing people contributed to our adventure. Certainly the DV folks who make it all happen, but importantly the momentary contributors who shared their homes, their kitchens, their parties, their waffles, their club connections, and their support along the way. I have so much more faith in community, in the capacity for selfless giving, and in the power of friendship than I’ve ever had before. I miss the people and the moments like missing a drug. It was an unparalleled high—completely legal, no residual, and sustaining for weeks.
If you’ve never done anything like this, now is the time to do it. Flights are cheap, shared gas money is too, relative to spending your money away on therapy or alcohol to deal with your apathy about this country. Get out there. Take your friends or realize you will make friends. You’ll never be the same. And then you will understand people who write trite blogs about being changed. Maybe you will start your own website. Maybe you will change the world a bit. Or at least earn a hellova political t-shirt collection.