last good country

Twenty-eleven, done

I go back and forth on whether this year went by in an instant, or if it seemed to last forever. It feels like it was only moments ago that the Draft Weaver campaign began, but that much more than a year passed since my grandmother passed away. I am so very thankful for the fact that years roll over, that we give ourselves the opportunity to hit a reset button.

I began this year with a hefty list of resolutions. I stuck with some of them, and let others fall to the side. I took some big steps towards my goal of being more involved, helping to launch a campaign for city council and change the conversation of that election. I learned so much from that experience, about organizing, politics, and most of all, people. I saw many people get involved for the first time—and do amazing things. We did so much in such a short period of time. I’ll always remember 2011 for being the year when people around the world decided that they were tired of waiting for others to stand up.

It’s really about taking chances. Trying something. Standing up. As Steve Jobs put it, “if I try my best and fail, well, I tried my best.” This year seemed to be about a whole lot of people realizing “if not us, then who?” As a city, as a nation, and as a planet we are facing problems that are both dire and complex. Our institutions have proven themselves unwilling and incapable of solving these problems. That leaves us. 

You’ll never regret trying and failing. I promise. I spent a lot of time this year realizing that. Maybe things get tough, or it seems like it doesn’t matter, but the effort is worth it. You don’t have to do big things to make an important difference. Small things matter just as much. I know we all don’t have the time or energy to do big things all of the time. Take it slow. No matter what, though, remember that you do matter and you do count and your voice is heard and is not nothing.

Aside from getting involved, 2011 was a big year for me for travel and my career. I spend a lot of time up in the air, flying nearly 27,000 miles. I ended up back in Seattle for the first time since 2006, and for the first time ever visited Los Angeles. 

I had the chance to spend a good amount of time in the city of Chicago this summer, which was wonderful. While in Chicago, I met many awesome people, took my girlfriend to President Obama’s birthday party, visited the Rush University Medical Center when I broke a wine glass in my hand, saw old friends, visited my family, and spent time at the Sierra Club Chicago office.

This summer, I decided that it was time to pursue a career change. I had been working in IT and operatons support at the Sierra Club, but wanted to switch to something more organizing or campaign oriented. I spent several months applying for jobs. I was not expecting much, due to the recession and the fact that there are a lot of people smarter than myself looking for jobs.

Eventually I was offered an opportunity to move into the Online Organizing department at the Sierra Club. I accepted that offer in October, and now officially am an organizer. It’s been quite an amazing change of pace, and I am very thankful to have the opportunity to help make some positive change.

I don’t know what will happen in 2012, but I know that if 2011 was the year of standing up, this will be the year where we fight. From the Arab Spring to Occupy, we are beginning to realize that The Powers That Be don’t always have to be. We are realizing that when everything that is important to us is under attack—we can, and must, fight back.

I have many memories from this year that I will hopefully never forget. Among them was something I overheard marching down K Street with Occupy DC after a Keystone XL Pipeline action at the White House. As we were marching—stopping traffic with a police escort—I heard a woman say,

I never thought I had any power. I never thought I counted.

2012. It’s time to stand up and be counted.