Reflection for the New Year

Those of you who read my blog regularly know that I rarely write very personally here. However, today I got some news that really struck me and I felt I wanted to share some thoughts. A friend reposted this very thoughtful post from feministing.com about the recent, untimely death of young feminist Emma Bee Bernstein. I met Emma only briefly when she came to the Museum to speak on a panel about different generational approaches to feminism. She was working on a book called GIRLDrive, which will be coming out soon, about young feminists of all kinds all over the United States. She shared her reflections about the state of feminism and her relationship to it, some comments which are included in the feministing post. Though I only met her once, I was moved by her artistic vision, her drive, and her ability to move through generations- to connect to both adults and young people and inspire those she met. I am saddened by the death of this young woman like myself who didn't make it, who was surrounded by art, community, politics, friends, and family. Though I can only speculate, I hope she has found a place more peaceful. I suppose this is cliche to say, but this put my own emotional ups and downs and dark moods in perspective and made me feel lucky for the community of friends, activists, artists, and family that surround me. Sometimes these things don't feel like enough, but I want to say hold on, reach out, love. Time is too short and all who we know and the lives we touch are too precious. My heart goes out to the family and friends of Emma Bee Bernstein.