What have I been up to til now?

Heretofore, my political activism has been sporadic. In college, I didn’t do much, if anything. I attended rallies (we were faced with a bunch of anti-immigrant state initiatives back then), and probably signed a few petitions. In 2000, I campaigned for Al Gore in the last month of his campaign for the presidency. In 2002, I attended a few anti-war marches. Mostly, that was about it. Not much of a showing.

Then in 2006 I started getting my feet wet in the real work of activism. Thanks to prodding from my cousin Nicole - working at the time as an organizer for the Contra Costa County Democratic Party -  I spent a weekend canvassing door-to-door for - the first time I’d ever done work like that. It was a fantastic experience and one that convinced me of the value of doing the old ’shoe leather’ kind of political work.

Since then, I have continued to remain active - in local Democratic events, fundraisers, campaigns, and party politics. It’s been a wonderful, and educational experience. And with each new experience, the fires are stoked and the sense of really taking part in the wider community, of taking responsibility for not just my own life but for our democracy as well, it is something that has value and meaning. And I want to do more.

What am I going to do?

I love what I do professionally, and I feel gratified that I have actively pursued and achieved a career in the field that I chose. It gives me pleasure, and I beyond being a profession, web design enables me to help my family and friends express themselves online, as well. I love that.

But there is more to do. I will soon be launching a political blog, and working on ideas for tools to help the netroots community spread our ideas. I expect there will be many long nights, a lot less free time, and possibly some moments of doubt as to what the heck I think I’m doing. But I know the value of and meaning in connecting with other people in my community and across the country who are working to create positive, progressive change for our world, for our future. And I mean to do my part.