The time is always right...

Me & Mr. T

I'm sitting at my table. Tea mug next to me, its mossy-colored liquid rippling and sending its tea bag on mini waves to the beat of my laptop typing. Mr. Tea looks on. He's got his classic mean grill going. But he's just serious. And seriously misunderstood.

I'm glad he's here, because so far, the weirdest thing about working "for myself" is the silence.

In the arena...

What am I doing now that I've left my job at New Leaders? I'm going out on my own. I've decided to finally try to make Swirl, my ten year old on-the-side project, my full-time job. I know that if I don't try it now, I will always regret it. I am also hoping to consult on the side until working for Swirl actually supports me financially. I have never tried doing this before. It's new and exciting, but also scary, of course.

My long arm forgives

by Jen Chau

One of my arms is a lot longer than the other. It's not visible though. You won't see me fidgeting and pulling my green-knit sweater sleeve so that it covers the wrist of my long arm. It doesn't drag down to my knees. It doesn't get in the way or help me to reach the things that my other arm can't get to. It's not even something that I noticed until recently. My long arm is long because it has been reaching back back back to 10 years ago. 12. Maybe even 20. My time-traveling arm has been stretched from holding onto the past.

Where have all the mixed groups gone?

(Me giving Fusion the thumbs up this summer - Fusion! I still love you!)

by Jen Chau

So, I'm the creepy alum who goes back to Wellesley, skips into the beautiful student center, finds the student organizations area and leaves a note in Fusion's mailbox. Fusion was the mixed group that I helped to create waybackIdon'tminddatingmyselfi'mprettycutewhat? in 1997. Yup, a "Hi ladies! Keep on fighting the good fight! Love, Jen Chau, Class of 1999." Well, I learned that this last note (left during my 10 year reunion this past summer) was probably never even looked at - this is because Fusion is no longer. I found this out during my visit a couple of weeks ago when I was invited back for Wellesley's Multicultural Speaker Series.

Let's find the racist! And then let's shame the racist!

by Jen Chau

This is - I think - our favorite game to play when it comes to race. Locate the racist, focus on the racist, blog and tweet the crap out of that racist, and shame that racist as much as possible. The racist shouldn't be able to carry on life as he knew it. I too hope for change in the person who took a misstep, but I think we are missing the bigger picture. We use magnifying glasses to focus on individual events rather than seeing the connections and the patterns that point to larger societal problems.

The problem in perfection

by Jen Chau

Perfection was cute when we were little. Sure...it was all about being perfect when the task was laid out for us and all we had to do was it. Perfectly. I remember...

Recalibrating...

by Jen Chau
 

He sat at the front of the classroom on a rolling office chair with wheels, screen behind him, lights dimmed. This lighting was dangerous, I thought, as I looked at the semicircle of us.  We looked tired and heads were sure to start nodding. He had a nonchalant expression on his face, detailing all of the research, outlining, and further outlining we would need to do to complete our final paper. From time to time he would turn to his powerpoint (dark blue background with maroon headings) to illustrate his points. He could have been talking in slow motion - it seemed the end would never come. But week after week, we all got closer to the end. Our final sentence. Our fancy binding. Our ten minute presentations.

I love fake radio interviews: about Obama and race

 
by Jen Chau

Over the last couple of months, I have begun to expect that every un-identified number that pops up on my cell phone is probably connected to a well-intentioned (most of the time) reporter wondering if I could offer my thoughts on Obama‘s mixed race identity. Asking me to comment because of my work with Swirl, they have all wondered how hot of a topic Obama has been amongst other mixed race people. Was everyone excited about it? Were people taking offense to the fact that he was identifying as an African-American man? And what does he mean for the future of mixed race people everywhere? These are just some of the questions that came up during the interviews in which I have taken part (I guess though, that I should at least mention my favorite of all, “What if Obama identified as a white man? What would people think of that?” The best rhetorical question I have heard in a while. If nothing else, these conversations surely have been entertaining).

It hasn't really sunken in yet...

...but, I am absolutely ecstatic about Obama winning the Democratic nomination! I'm sure that others would easily join me in saying that I never thought I would see a candidate of Obama's caliber in my time. He talks about the world in a way I have rarely heard anyone talk about, let alone a presidential candidate. He puts forth strong messages about the need for our diverse nation to come together, he inspires a wide range of citizens to care about our country, he motivates our youth to pay attention. He is amazing and genuine, and and I am absolutely inspired by him -- I think a lot of people are. I am excited to see how people will now become galvanized in order to ensure his win. Obama winning the nomination inspires hope in me -- I inherited a bit of cynacism after the painful Kerry-Bush loss, but I must say, I am shocked and pleased. I might even try to be a little less cynical about our government and its processes. ;) But only maybe.

Obama has the potential to create substantial change in the US. I wholeheartedly believe it and hope that many of you out there -- those who care about a healthy future for our country -- will work to support Barack as he fights for his seat in the White House.

Idealist and I are on the same page! ;)

 

Idealist was nice enough to feature one of my posts on their blog -- a round-up of three articles talking about the importance of activists taking care of themselves while working toward change. I wrote the article in May 2007, but I think it's always a good time to revisit the topic!

All at the same time, Jen Chau was running her own nonprofit, working 45 hours a week at another organization, starting a small business, and taking three classes. And a lot of activists and nonprofit professionals find themselves with similar lifestyles: by following their passion to make change in the world, they often over-commit their time and resources. Is it healthy?

Chau recently changed her approach and was inspired to write "Activism—now for the sane and healthy too!"  on her blog, The Time is Always Right—because, she believes, "Activism needs a serious make-over. I am living proof." She recounts how she came to realize that while she does need to work (and work hard) for change in order to lead a happy and healthy life, she also needs to balance that work with more time spent with her family and friends; more purely fun activities, like allowing herself to read novels instead of only reading books about the issue she's working on; and getting eight hours of sleep a night.