Each year on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birth, America has the opportunity to reflect on our nation's progress towards the realization of his dream.
I think one of the defining moments of adulthood is the realization that nobody's going to take care of you. That you have to do the heavy lifting while you're here. And when you don't, well, you suffer the consequences.
Like probably a lot of people, I came away from watching films like 'Miss Representation' and 'Half the Sky' with the realization that the battle for women's rights is not over, especially not globally, and that the moral imperative of our century is to achieve full rights for everyone regardless of gender.
I used to think that divorce meant failure, but now I see it more as a step along the path of self-realization and growth.
No generation has escaped it - one morning, your skill with the eight-track or the record player or the cotton gin suddenly ceases to impress. It's just one of those inevitable disappointments that come with growing up, like the realization that Santa doesn't exist or the way that music always takes a turn for the worse after you turn 30.
I believe in the limitlessness of humans. We're capable of incredible things. At times, that realization is frightening.
As I started to explore my gender identity, I didn't know how I could claim the title of 'feminist' without subscribing to the gender binary. I thought I had to be a proud woman to be a feminist. Then I came to the realization that I can be proud of women without necessarily identifying as one.
I love contrast in music. Being inspired by classical, actually - in high school especially - classical and metal both, I remember having this cool realization that they are really similar. It's just different instrumentation.
The thing that still somehow surprises me, and I have come to this realization over and over again, is this nonsense that gets peddled regarding, 'Just work really hard, be really smart, do the right thing, and you'll get rewarded.' No, you don't. You don't get rewarded for those things in this society.
I started to have almost a realization that a lot of the evangelical leaders I looked up to and found hope in - I started realizing a lot of them just weren't the people I thought they were.
