MOVED

I have moved… In more ways than one.

BUT mainly my BLOG HAS MOVED. so take a second and change the address so you can continue to follow me. New look, more writing, more of the journey.

In 3 days I embark on a new adventure in Tanzania, so I know there will be much to write about. Here is the address:

http://quinnbrady.blogspot.com

Follow on my friends.

love and appreciation,

Quinn

Changes…

my blog is under construction. I am trying to re-vamp. Dont mind the mess. I will keep you posted.

And on a side note… I leave the country in 5 days!

“And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

Anais Nin

recognition

I forgot all the words

To the songs I planned to sing

Of love and giving

For mice and for men

Smoke filled the room

And I gasped for air instead

For freedom and rights

For acceptance of life

In this unlit way

I wanted you to stay

But you left anyway

That’s how it always is

When I am the one

That says what I really think

When I am the one

Who tells you of love

I am almost there

I had my last college class on Wednesday. I attended the senior send off with a great friend Elyse, walking away from Mizzou towards the city of Columbia. I worked my last shift at the ARC on Thursday. My lasts are becoming a great opportunity for firsts. My college graduation is Saturday.

Seven years after I began, I am finishing something I started.

I feel really proud of myself, and that is a really good feeling.

I am Indebted to the people who have loved me and walked with me. I am Indebted to those who have seen me and empowered me. I am indebted to friends, Wilson girls and roommates and classmates and Sassers and Schaefers. I am indebted to the unending love of parents. I am awed at a God who has always been with me.

Diploma, I will see you soon. I am almost there. Let the journey continue.

today

welcoming the journey. pain and pleasure. every part.

acceptance.

staying in it. every moment.

present.

creating space to make change.

open.

finding power hidden deep within and letting it flow.

embrace.

The Girl Effect

600 Million girls live in the developing world. When women and girls earn an income they reinvest 90 percent back into their families, compared to only 30 to 40 percent for men.

Invest in a Girl. It can change her life, the life of her family, her community, her country, her world.

Our world.

Think globally. Get involved. Its a big world, but engaging in our world is simple.

One quarter to one half of  girls in developing countries become mothers before the age of 18. 14 Million girls give birth in developing countries each year. Medical complications due to pregnancy are the leading cause of death among girls ages 15 to 19 worldwide. In Tanzania $15 can pay for a safe vaginal delivery in a hospital for one girl. It would save her life.

$15 is equivalent to working 2.07 hours at minimum wage. Will you work two hours for this girl? If you are willing, let me know. I will hold her hand and your $15 and walk her to a hospital for her delivery in Moshi, Tanzania this June. It really can be that simple

Then think locally. Think of a girl you know. One girl. A girl who can use some love, some support, some some acceptance, some empowerment.

That girl in need could have been your mother. Or what if she was your daughter?

Maybe that girl was you once. Maybe someone saw those things in you.

We will all need a hand sometime. I know I have. I know that those hands changed my world.

Our world.

Find a way to invest in that girl in your community. Maybe she just needs a cup of coffee with you as her friend. It can be that simple.

600 billion. That is a huge number. But change can happen one girl at a time. Its called the Girl Effect.

important new development

I have a squirrel. His name is Oliver.

My Birth, I Imagine.

I was born in slow motion

The day I came

Taking longer than expected, but coming just the same

My mother’s coarse brown hair tied loosely in a knot behind her neck

Strands slip from their place, matting against her dampened cheeks

Hands shifting between

White knuckles gripping her sisters shirt

And soft palms pressing lightly, holding a round belly

Movement deep inside

Wonder

Unable to decide between joy and fear

She speaks softly, articulating her heart

To my father

He crouches on the cold tile floor alongside the bed

Sweat beaded at his temples, fingering his unkempt hair

Head between his knees

Trying to remember how to breathe

Lying on her back she gazes to the light above

It’s bright, too bright in fact

She closes her eyes,

Wanting to stay right there

Momentarily succumbing to creation

My mother keeps me in limbo

Between light and grey

Holding or releasing

That which she cannot protect

It will be a struggle all her life

She moves both hands to her heart,

Asking a God she cannot see, for something she does not know

Then, in a still moment, no one breathes

I come

In slow motion

Born

To humbled arms

That will hold me for a lifetime

A place I belong, humanity’s heart

My fathers trembling fingers trace the length of my cheek

His eyes meet my mothers and he loves her all over again

They know nothing, and everything together

Child

Skin, toes, eyes

Blinking at a world, seen in an instant

Continuing to be met forever

Happy

Joy is rising from deep within my soul

wrapping gracious arms tightly around my bony body

holding tight

i can feel the rays chipping away stone

bringing forth light and life

sun, warmth

on a tender heart

present and alive

Every moment of the past few days I was completely present and exactly where I wanted to be. I am so grateful to have some of the most incredible friends out there. I breathe easier knowing they are there, the vulnerability the passion the pain the tenacity the awareness the fight.  and I find so much joy in the journey when the company is so sweet.

Thanks to each of you, you know who you are.