Brenna's loving and learning through the tears

Ahh so much has already happened! I’ve cried a couple more times, of course. What has been most challenging for me recently is figuring out and coming to terms with what my role is here. It’s been really hard to differentiate all that I want to do with what I can do.  I want to buy something from every street vendor I see to support him or her, I want to tell every one  I see who struggles with a smile that they are beautiful and their strength inspiring, I want to learn everything I can about each Capetonian I meet, and, most of all, I want to change Cape Town into a city free of racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia, xenophobia and all other forms of oppression, so that the beautiful people can live free.

But, obviously, I can’t do that and, it’s not my responsibility to do that. At both the Baptist Church and the Minstral Carnival I took in the people surrounding me;  such spirit and strength resounded from these people who spend their lives in townships. I understand that I will never know nor feel what their lives have been like, it’s a reality that sits heavy in my heart. However, what I can do is learn and appreciate the knowledge they share. My favorite sticker on my laptop case says, “All people are created equal members of ONE HUMAN FAMILY”, which I love reading because it reiterates to me that the world is filled with my brothers and sisters, but we can’t deny that we come from different places, so we must meet in the middle and bring to the table what our life experiences have prepared us with. I in no way am saying this to maintain the segregation that pervades this city and the world, on the contrary, I say this to emphasize the need for diversity and inclusion in the struggle towards a just and equal world. To do so, I need to recognize what my role is and the capacity of what I can do while in this city which, I now believe, is simply to love and learn.

Leanne, Kayla, & Brenna

Vernon told us on the first day of his class; “there is a wave here in Cape Town, just ride it”, which is exactly what I needed to hear. My role is to appreciate and understand the beauty that’s in this city so that I find my place within our universal struggle.  I am not here to change anything at my internship or in this city, that is what Capetonians are best equipped for and so admirably do every day of their lives – what I am here to change, is me.